A/N: Special thanks to everyone who really tried to help me, I appreciate it so much. A few who really tried hard, I especially thanks:

Lucky Number 26

coolsteel

minniemouse

Thanks a lot, and to all who reviewed! Unfortunately, I coudln't fix it. It was some error or whatever. Many of you said you really wanted to read more so I decided to just suck it up and start all over.

I can't guarantee it will be as good as the first one I wrote, but you guys won't know the difference. At least now I can go over everything and possibly make it better. Only now, the updates are going to take much, much, much, longer than I orginally planned, and I'm very sorry for that. Just bear with me. I just decided there's not enough Toko fics on to give up on mine!

About the chapter:

I cut it short, because I didn't want to keep you waiting. Originally it was so much longer but I had to cut it short. More's coming soon, don't worry.

AND:

For those heavy Toko fans, I'd just like to warn you I like to keep my fics as in character as I can. Therefore there will be no 'BOOM! Let-me-shove-my-tounge-in-your-mouth-and-share-a-passionate-kiss-cause-I-suddenly-love-you' moments. I'm sorry, I realized their really won't. Without giving too much away, I'll just say it will have it's share of cute moments but an arranged marriage toko fic coudln't never be heavy.

And so... Here it is.

Chapter 3

Dress To Impress

"Where's my stuff?" was the first thing Toph said upon stepping into her room. Truthfully, the girl didn't have many possessions, leaving her room plain and bare. A few pairs of clothes were about the only thing she brought with her. The thing that triggered her sense of loss was the mysterious disappearance of her cherished space rock bracelet she left on the night stand next to her bed. She strode over to it and pulled open the drawers of the night stand, and found it's contents were empty. Her clothes and the space rock was missing.

She sensed movement behind her.

"Did you hear me? I said where's my stuff," she demanded, and the servant boy behind her jumped.

"Excuse me, Princess Toph, your belongings have been moved to a new room in the royal wing," he said hastily, and Toph turned to him.

"Oh, that's right. The council said I had to be in close proximity of Zuko or something stupid. Okay... And don't call me 'princess'! I'm not a princess!"

"R-Right, Ms..." The servant stuttered and faltered, at a loss for what to call her. Instead, with a wave of the hand from the girl, he began to lead her to her new quarters. She followed him down a few unfamiliar hallways until they took a sudden right turn, and the servant halted.

"Your room is the last door in the left hallway." He wouldn't go any further, and Toph guessed he wasn't allowed to step in the royal wing without permission. She waved him off and turned the corner, feeling him scrabble down the hallway and disappear.

Although she couldn't exactly see the blood red color of the royal wing, she could feel it. The air was oppressing, weighing down on her. With each step she could feel something eerie and foreboding clench her stomach, deeper and deeper into the hall. She didn't like it. For a moment all she could think of was living in the same room Azula slept in. But they wouldn't do that, would they?

Before turning into the left hallway, she noticed the huge doors straight ahead. The whole wing was in the shape of a cross. The doors straight ahead she suspected must have been the entrance to former Fire Lord Ozai's bedroom. She briefly wondered if Zuko had kept his own room, or moved into his father's. Shrugging it off she found the door to her new quarters.

She opened the door; it was definitely bigger than the last room she had, but Toph didn't really care. Fatigue from the day's events and problems over took her, and all she was concerned about was sleep. She went to the bed, and ran a hand over it's top. It's fluffy comforter promised the best sleep you've ever had. Shrugging, and slipping on the newly discovered space rock bracelet she found on her dresser, and settled herself on the floor and tried to sleep.

People of the Fire Nation always rose with the sun. That, and some encouragement from his stomach made Zuko realize that it was time to start heading to breakfast. With a sigh, he pulled on some suitable clothes and pushed open his door. He almost felt normal. Then, out in the hall, he saw the one person he wasn't totally expecting to be in this part of the palace.

Then Zuko remembered, and realized that seeing Toph reminded him of how much he missed the privacy. As he got closer to the girl coming towards him from the other side, he had to squint his eyes and look twice.

Look twice at the complete and utter mess that was Toph Bei Fong, his 'supposed' fiancée.

Dark, purple half-circles rimmed her cloudy, sightless eyes, and her hair was a mass of frizz. One side had pulled loose from her head band and fell down her shoulders and back at an unexpectedly long length. Her clothes were wrinkled and overall, she just looked disheveled. She met him in the cross section of the hall way.

"Good morning," he said tenatively, staring at her.

"Not really," Toph said, making a motion that said 'Look at me.'

"Me neither," Zuko confessed, as they started to progress down the hall. "I couldn't sleep. I guess I just had a lot on my mind, everything... Same for you, right?"

"No. I couldn't sleep because I could feel the vibrations of you pacing around in your room all night," she said shortly. "And I realized I didn't know how to get to breakfast from here so when I felt you leave, I left so I could follow you." Zuko, eyes wide, was at a loss for words. Sympathy seized him.

"Oh... I'm sorry. Next time I'll make sure I have a servant waiting-"

"No!" Toph said hastily, "You don't have to treat me like a princess or anything... I can handle myself." Confused, Zuko returned his eyes ahead of him.

Toph and Zuko halted at the entrance doors to the dining hall, spying some unwanted visitors. There sat the council; although their numbers were greatly reduced, the big representatives were still there. So were their friends; all deeply scowling.

"Good morning," said Iroh pleasantly, studying their faces. Wearing an indifferent mask on her face, Toph moved to take her seat and stiffly picked at some food. Zuko nodded to his Uncle and followed suit. A buzzing in his right ear told him Aang was attempting to make conversation. The voice of an elder cut straight through him.

"Here is your day's activity," he said, and passed a paper down over a wave of people. Sokka tried to read it, but Suki ripped it from his hand and stretched across the table to deliver it into the safe hands of Katara, who passed it to Toph.

"Hmm, very interesting," Toph said, pretending to read the paper. Zuko took it from her hands, always a little slow in registering the irony of situations like these. Two golden eyes scanned the small scroll.

So this was the beginning, he thought. The scroll required them to go on a public outing, have a late lunch at the tea shop of their choice, excluding the Jasmine Dragon. He held in a sigh and put it down, ignoring the curious faces. He would have to read it to Toph later. The rest of breakfast was eaten in a defeated silence, until one by one they finished eagerly, desperate to slink away from the eyes of the council.

Toph was the first among to make her escape; however, she didn't get too far when suddenly a servant approached.

"Princess Toph! Hurry, we can't delay... You must come!" she said, circling the little earth bender. Toph cocked an eyebrow and was about to retort when the servant girl grabbed her arm and began hauling her off in the opposite direction.

"Excuse me," Toph said, scowling. "Where are you taking me? What do you mean?" She frowned at the strange girl rushing her off with a determined glint in her eye; she never knew of a servant as bold as to actually grab a person. She stumbled as this Servant Girl halted abruptly, and turned to her with wide eyes.

"Your date! You have a date with Fire Lord Zuko in a little more than an hour, we have to get you ready!" She said.

"What? It's not a date!"

"Princess Toph, you're going on an 'outing' with the Fire Lord. Come on, we d on't have much time!" Again, with the pulling.

"We have a lot of time! And don't call me princess," she said dangerously, and felt Servant Girl stop before a wooden door.

"Princess, you need a lot of work," Servant Girl told her sternly, and thrust open the door. The room was filled with a handful of other servant, heads turned towards new arrivals. Servant Girl pushed her in, and closed the door behind her. "Now, we're just going to clean you up so you look presentable to the public." She hustled Toph into the middle of the large room. The girl being pushed around gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

Wriggling her toes, Toph realized there was nothing in the area she could possibly earth bend. If there was, Servant Girl's little assistants would have been blasted into the next hall. She could hardly defend herself from the dozens of pairs of hands that were scratched, prodding, and tearing at her clothes.

"Oh, my," she heard one of the aids mutter, as they all inspected her.

"First thing's first! A bath!" Servant girl announced, and her assistants nodded. Immediately she felt her clothes being torn off by the servants, and began to protest loudly.

"Hey-I can, you can't-" she pushed a girl off of her, and was chided by the others to stand still. She fought indignantly as the last of her clothes was torn off, only to be replaced quickly by a towel. She didn't know how, but she was even stripped of her bindings. She felt herself being lifted off her feet and cried out.

"Put me down!" she demanded, and they obliged. They dropped her into a tub of warm water.

She couldn't see, and she wasn't happy. She didn't like water, or getting wet. A string of curses left her mouth as her head resurfaced from the heated water. So many things were happening to her that she couldn't focus.

One servant plucked her headband from her head, leaving her hair to fall down her back at a surprisingly long length.

"Wow," the aid said, "why don't you ever leave you're hair down? With some work it could be beautiful!" She could hardly reply as she felt a comb raking painfully through the mass of hair. Her hands were yanked out of the water, and another servant went to work, furiously digging the dirt out of her nails.

"Hey, I like that dirt!" she cried, missing the earth that was lodged under her nails.

"Filthy," the servant commented with distaste, and Toph tried to sink back into the water as a few others started scrubbing her viciously.

"Watch the feet!" she snarled, yanked back her sensitive soles that a voice she knew to be Servant girl's protested.

"They're disgusting!" she said, taking them back and continuing her scrubbing assault. Toph squeezed her eyes shut when she felt a cascade of shampoos melt down her head, sliding over her eyes; her hair and head was being massages, worked, lathered, and repeated many, many times. She kept her eyes shut, finally submissive, willing it to be all over soon. Finally, a wave of cold water was doused over her face and she was pulled out of the tub, another towel over her. She held it securely over her body, and rubbed her eyes with it.

Her feet found Servant Girl's general direction and she glared viciously.

"Great victory! Good job! I commend all of you!" Servant girl was saying, applauding the others. Every second Toph felt more furious. "And now the great part! The dress!" Toph froze.

"Oh no. I'm not playing dress up!" Toph said, her memory taking her back to the piles and piles of frilly, fluffy dresses her mother used to make her wear. "And you're a fool if you think you can make me." She slid a little in the direction of the door, and wondered where her clothes were. Servant Girl was trying to calm her down.

"Please, Princess! Just calm down, I won't overdo it. Nothing frilly, or fluffy, or ridiculous!" Toph was not listening. "Don't you want to impress them!?" she asked.

Toph paused form planning her escape.

Impress who?

Who, she wondered. The council, no. Her friends already liked her for who she was. She didn't care about the public, she didn't... Then why did she feel like she had something to prove, someone she did want to impress? This was haunting her... She never cared what anyone thought of her before. Before all of this? Then who, she asked herself, who did she want to impress? Was it her peers, was it the public, was it the council, Iroh, was it Zuko?

Zuko? She snorted to herself. Since when did she ever want to impress him, huh? Since when did she care what he thought? Since when did she need to impress anybody?

A reluctant sigh.

"Nothing stupid," she said, letting her arms fall limp at her side. Servant Girl cheered and the other surrounded her. The girl was walking the perimeter of the room, eyes scanning the closets.

"Oh, this. It's this. This is perfect!" She suddenly yelped, snatching something from the closet. She held it up for all the others to see, but all Toph could hear were their purrs of awe and agreement.

"Does it have frills?" Toph asked, unable to see it.

"No," replied Servant Girl, silk in her voice. "I think it's you."

"Can you... lay it on the floor? I can see it better that way," she said with an indifferent tone, only pretending not to care what it looked like. Servant Girl obeyed, and laid the dress on the floor. From what Toph could tell, it wasn't frilly or puffy. The top seemed to be made out of a more hardened material, and the bottom was the only thing close to 'puffy'. It's material flowed.

"Shall we?" Servant Girl asked, picking it up. Toph shrugged. This time, they all turned and waited for her to wrap her own bindings; the dress, she needed a little help with. Servant girl and several assistants had to slip it over her head and yank it all the way down. Feeling it on her body, she could really tell what it was. Servant Girl stepped back to admire her regal work.

The top was corset-like, ribbed and more structured. Intricate, flaming designs detailed it and made it look beautiful. Two thick, silky straps were positions near the end of her shoulders. On the widest part of her waist, the corset ended and a beautiful, flowing material allowed the skirt to drop to the floor and swish with every movement. It covered her feet, so no one could tell she was barefoot. It was certainly form fitting; the stop was a bit low cut, but it was the fit at her waists that accentuated her hips and gave her shape.

"I didn't know you looked like such a young woman," Servant Girl remarked, smiling. She informed the blind girl that the top was a deep red, and the bottom was a much lighter red. "The color really suits you," she said, amused that fire nation colors felt so natural on the girl.

She felt a new glossy redheadband slip onto her head, and her hair being combed and dried. She could feel the abnormally silky smooth hair fall down her back. They replaced her regular acessories(arm guards, etc) with red ones.

"You ready to see our results?" Servant Girl asked. "Well, I mean, if you can-"

"Do you have a mirror?" she asked.

"Of course?" Two other servants brought out a body length mirror. Toph couldn't see in mirrors, but she had her own method to see her reflections. She hardly ever desired to see herself, and never had a mirror handy, but now it was time to but her earth bending to use.

Closing her eyes, she stood upright and stomped one foot. The vibrations from her foot traveled to the mirror, and she knew it would work. This technique would only work with a reflective surface. Though the mirror itself didn't move, the vibrations bounced off the mirrors and headed straight back to her. The vibrations were her own; they hit her feet and traveled up her body, so she could 'see' herself. It was kind of unclear, but she could recognized the essence of her image. She could feel it, too. She looked and felt pretty.

The feelings were more clear than the shaky image she managed to see. She could feel the how the dress fit her body snugly, feel the silkiness of her hair, feel the flowing bottom of the garment. And she felt clean, but she didn't particularly like that. She felt foreign, being this... pretty? But she liked it.

She liked it mostly because she was still Toph, and beneath the pretty clothes she could recognize herself. This wasn't the helpless 'doll' her mother used to dress for fun, this was Toph Bei Fong, who was able to earth bend, metal bend, and look pretty.

She never felt like this.

"One more thing... make up," Servant Girl said.

No.

"No, I don't think... I mean, not too much," Toph said. She detested make up, except sometimes when Katara put it on. She never went over board. She didn't feel like looking like a clown, and knew already that fire nation girls could be cruel.

"No, I agree," Servant Girl said. "You're pretty, Toph. That's because your face has that natural prettiness. Too much makeup would completely ruin it." And so, a very light blush was applied to her cheeks, and a light red eye shadow complemented her cloudy greenish eyes. She refused to have any color on her lips, so they had to settle for a nude gloss.

"Good. Now you're ready to take on the world. You're 'date' is in five minutes, you know," Servant Girl reminded her. Toph smiled, wishing she could see the expression on people's faces as they saw her. No matter, she would be able to feel their heart beats. She turned to her new friends.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. "All of you. But if you ever ambush me like that again, you better hope it's not in a room made with rock." Five minutes? She had to go meet Zuko.

End of chapter. I know there wasn't a whole lot of dialougue, but hey. Next chapter I'm sensing you'll really, really like. There's dialougue, and a date, of course!

ABOUT THE DRESS

I'm not a great artist but if you didn't get a good image from my description I drew it for you! But seriously, I'm not an awesome drawer. Yes, I know her head is huge. This is the link to the Toph I made!:

http : / / i138.photobucket .com/ albums/ q243/ Bebe Point/ toph .jpg

Yeah, take out the spaces. Seriously, I'm not a great artist.

And as always, review!!