I'm so so so so, sorry that it has taken so long again for me to up-date. I had more problems with me laptop. They are sorted now, I got a new one. So there should be no more long gaps in between the chapters. I would also like to thank you for the reviews. I have also up-dated my profile, for the first time. I have put in the links to outfits and objects from the story on there. So please check them out once you have read the chapter and let me know what you think.
Aang walked the corridors of the palace, with no real direction. Except that he didn't want to go onto the top floor where his room was. Toph's room was on the same floor his, and he worried that she would be watching out from him, so she could ask what he and the earth king had talked about when she was sent away. He almost set himself on course towards the back doors that led out into the grounds of the palace. He was put off this course as he felt the footsteps of a maid, he guessed about to turn into the corridor he was walking along. He didn't want to be around anyone right now. Not even people that he had never spoken to before. He was still very unsure what his next more would be. He had said, almost promised that he would deal with the jade bandit. He as sure of that, he just didn't know how. Till he did, he would stay always from them, everyone. Giving him time to think more clearly.
In avoiding the maid, ha turned in to a small side staircase. He stopped, stood still at the bottom of the stairs. This was the first time he had stopped walking since he turned to walk away from the earth king. He looked up at the stairs. They curved round, making the top impossible to see. He knew where they would lead though. This was one of the the manly side staircases only used by the staff of the palace, so they wouldn't be seen by the guests. This particular staircase went up to the floor he and Toph where staying on. Then opened onto the corridor just five doors up from his room.
After a letting out a loud sigh, heightened by the echo of the hollow stone staircase, he took his first step up the stairs. He couldn't avoid this forever. He would have to see her, talk to her again. If there was one thing that he learned from her, that would always stay with him, it was that sometimes you have to face things head one. Now he wasn't going to go to her room now, but he wasn't going to keep going out of his way to avoid her either. When he reached the top of the stairs he quietly opened the door, and peered out into the corridor. It was empty. He let the door go as he stepped back, shaking his head slightly and berating himself for being so stupid.
As he stepped out onto the corridor and walked towards his room, he could hear his boots pounding on the stone floor. He wondered if his footsteps had made this much noise the whole time. He passed the room Lady Shou had been staying in. The door was opened fully, the lock had been taken off to be fixed. He glanced in and saw the room was empty of any personal possessions. He assumed that Lady Shou had ask, demanded a new room. She wasn't meant to leave for two more days anyway, and she didn't seem like the kind of person to call a trip off early.
He was about to pass the alcove that he and Toph had hidden in so they could hear her banging on the door and yelling for help, when a small yet strong hand grabbed hold of his right arm, just above the chain wound around his wrist. He was pulled into the alcove, and when he was standing in place again, he was looking right into a pair of large faded jade green eyes.
Toph took a small step back, but held onto his arm. She had changed into a cream dress, in the same style as the one she had worn to the banquet the other night. Her hair was pulled into a lose bun, with a few strands of long black hair falling free. There was a look in her eyes that he had never seen from her before. She looked genuinely worried. His eyes lowered so he didn't have to look at her eyes any more. As they fell, He saw the bruise on her neck, a little faded now and the top of a bandage peaking out from the line of her dress on the back of her right shoulder, where he burned her. If he hadn't seen the look in her eyes first, he would have thought that she had dresses like this for effect. To show him how he had already hurt her.
"What did you say." Her voice was so low, he had to strain himself to hear it.
He now choose to look completely away from her, out into the corridor and through the window opposite the alcove they where once again hiding in. "I said I would deal with the jade bandit myself, and I will." He glanced back at her as he caught sight of her slightly nodding her head at this. Her hold on his arm now left him, as her arm fell to her side. Not that that had been what had kept him standing in the same place anyway.
Her head now tilted back a little, touching the way behind her, with the crown of her head. While she did this she let out a low breath. She must have been waiting here for him since she had changed. He wasn't sure how long that would have been. Despite himself he felt a little guilty at having made her wait here like this for so long. This so unlike the Toph that he knew. She was quite and timid in her movements, like she was afraid to make any movement at all.
"What did he say."
It seemed like she could also only mange to get out one short sentence at a time. Aang had been about to step out of the alcove when she spoke again. He turned back to face her. He did this a little to fast and found himself standing almost right in-front of her, looking down on the top of her head. She almost as quickly took as big a step as she could backwards. She was already only an inch or so from the wall, so she found herself right up against the wall. He hands twitched a little, ready to move. She knew it was utterly ridiculous, but couldn't shake the fear that Aang would get more angry with her and lash out at her. Raise his hands and try and chock her, like Changpu had done, leaving a dark bruise behind as evidence. Off all the lies and manipulation she had done to Aang over the last few days, letting him think that he had caused the bruise on her neck was the one she regretted the most, and most wanted to take back. All the others she felt she was acting with the best of intention, but that one she couldn't justify.
Aang was still looking over her head. He hadn't realised how tall he had gotten till now. "He said he wants me to put an end to the jade bandit once and for all."
He noticed her tense up. If the wall hadn't been directly behind her, she would have fallen back onto it once she relaxed a little. Her eyes were now larger then they had been before, a feat he didn't think was possible. Her breathing was strained. After letting out a sigh, she briefly bit her bottom lip for a second, before giving what could be seen as a subtle nod of her head. It was like she had been confused, panicked now she had made up her mind about something.
She bent over, and slowly lifted up the bottom of her dress. Aang was about to say something, walk away, when he noticed why she was doing this. Attached to her lower thigh was a garter that she had her dagger tied to. She quickly pulled the dagger free, as not to give herself the chance to change her mind. She pulled herself back up, letting the dress fall back into place. She turned the dagger round in her hand, so she was holding the blade very lightly. Very slowly, but purposefully she held the handle out to Aang.
"Do you understand what he was asking yo to do." Another question, this time he didn't know what to say. "He was asking you to kill the jade bandit, me."
The dagger was now held out to him only a few inches away. His hand slowly lifted towards it. Toph was doing her best to remain as steady as possible, but Aang could see the slight shake of her hand. His hand calmly wrapped around the silver handle. Then slid around so his palm was pushed against the bottom of the handle. Just as slowly as he had done everything else he pushed the dagger away from him and back towards Toph. The handle came to rest at the centre of her collar bone.
"I'am not going to kill you." There was pure shock in his voice that she had suggested such a thing.
Her mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out. He moved to walk away. She caught his right arm again, stopping him. This time she took hold of the chain. She held his hand for a few seconds, then let him go. As she had moved away, the chain fell to the ground, causing a loud crush that echoed through the alcove and the down the corridor. Like Toph before he opened his mouth to speak, thank you maybe, but nothing came out. He turned away then walked out of the alcove.
Toph instinctively took a step after him, but stopped herself from going any further. She then leaned back against the wall. She knew that it had been a risk ambushing him like this, but one she had to take. Things hadn't gone as badly as she had expected. She had imagined yelling and screaming, and herself powerless to say anything or yelling back making it all worse. She tried to shake off the feeling of tension, but she couldn't. She had never felt like this before. Not when her father had treated her like a doll, or when no one would listen to her. She didn't now why this was any different. She had done what she had always done, what she thought was right damn the consequences. She didn't have any doubt that what she had done was the right thing. The only thing that she could think was any different about this situation was that she had lied and used a friend, that she hurt someone that she in her own way cared about and she guessed cared about her. Why else would he have put up with her for so long, when he didn't need her to teach him earthbending any more.
Aang wanted to run from the alcove to his room, but forced himself to walk at a steady pace. He reached his door, took hold of the door handle in his hand and froze. He stood there from a few seconds, trying to fight the urge to look back over at the alcove. He lost the fight. As he turned he saw the back of Toph as she walked away from the alcove, walking in the direction he had come from. He assumed she was now going to be the one to wonder the palace aimlessly. The patter of her bare feet on the cold hard floor as she walked away, still with a slight limp from her right leg her back to him was like a pounding in his head. He unfrozen opened the door and slammed hit behind him. The sound of the slamming door caused Toph to jump a little. She took a second to calm herself before she started to walk down the stairs.
Thank you for reading. Hope you liked it. I promise the next chapter will explain everything in this part of the story. With that in mind I would like to know if there is anything that you feel has to be explained more clearly, or anything that doesn't make any sense. Please let me know, so I cam explain them in the next chapter. Also please remember the links on my profile. I would love to know what you think of them too, are they they way she imagined them to be from the story. thank you.