The marketplace was bustling with mid-morning activity; carts rattled along the cobbled streets as vendors hawked their wares over the din of the noisy crowds. It was a fine day, with cool ocean breezes whispering up from the port.
"Ah! Now this is more like it," Sokka sighed as he gazed lovingly upon the steaming sausage skewer he held, "real meat."
Toph, who had decided to join the siblings on their trip into town, grinned impishly at the remark.
"You know, Katara," she mused, "if that's all it takes to cheer His Grumpiness up, then maybe you should buy more meat for the road."
"Well, I guess it is less expensive here than in the Earth Kingdom," admitted the money-keeper, looking thoughtfully at the small purse of coins she held.
"Good!" announced Sokka, plucking the bag from his sister's hand. "In that case, I'm going to get some of that spiced jerky."
With that, he hurried off to a nearby stall, leaving the two girls where they were. Katara was about to go after him and protest when Toph grabbed her by the arm.
"Aw, let him have his meat," she reasoned, "He hasn't been this happy in days."
"I suppose you're right," Katara agreed reluctantly. "But he'll take forever picking out what he wants, and we really need to get back on the road."
"Why? We've made great time the last few days," argued Toph sensibly. "Besides," she added, pulling out a small jingling bag of her own, "I want to grab a few things while we're here."
"Where'd you get that?" wondered Katara in surprise.
"Iroh," Toph replied with a shrug. "He asked me to try and find some tea bargains."
As much as she wanted to return to camp, Katara had a hard time refusing the old general any concession, and he did make the most marvelous tea. So she merely smiled indulgingly and took her blind young friend companionably by the arm.
"Okay, then," she conceded with a wry grin, "I'll just let Sokka know we're going to look for some teas. I'm sure a little extra time in the market won't hurt."
Momo perched on the edge of the swaying wagon, every muscle tensed and green eyes trained on the spot of light dancing across the rear bed of the cart. A low purr rumbled in his tiny throat as he waited for the right instant to pounce.
The dot of light skittered to and fro and then finally stopped, shimmering against the rough wood. Seeing this as the opportune moment, he lept on top of it with a sharp trill, but when he opened his hands to examine his prize, he found them empty. Chirruping in confusion, his gaze fetched about the cart until he found his quarry once more.
From his spot at the front of the wagon, facing backward with his arm folded across the seat and his chin resting on them, Zuko grinned with amusement, tilting the shiny silver bracelet in his hand, and sending the reflected noon sunlight zooming around the wagon-bed for Momo to chase. It was a juvenile way to pass the time but, despite this undeniable fact, he couldn't help but be entertained by it.
There was something so very refreshing about this kind of activity; it was pure and simple play unlike anything he'd done in…years at the very least…quite possibly ever. And the fact that there was no one there to judge or jibe him for it was wholly liberating.
His face lit up with a smile as Momo finally figured out that Zuko held the source of the roving beam of light and he swooped toward the prince instead, landing on his forearm and grasping for the sparkling bracelet. Still grinning, Zuko quickly tucked the trinket away and placated the lemur with a vigorous rub behind the ears.
Beside them, Junjie was merrily humming off-key, for once not butchering the song with half-remembered lyrics. Suddenly the humming ceased and the cart shuddered to a stop at the crest of a hill overlooking the harbor town in the distance.
"Well, lookie there," he marveled cheerfully, "a parade! Betcha' ain't seen one o' them in a while, eh Kruton?"
Hearing yet another mispronounced version of his alias, Zuko let out a defeated sigh and turned to face forward.
"It's Kuz-" he began out of pure habit, but the words died on his lips when he caught site of the view below.
His blood seemed to chill in his veins as he took in the sight of an entire division of Fire Nation troops filing into the small city, and his voice carried a note of grim dread when he spoke again.
"That's no parade…"
Sokka was waiting at the designated spot in the main square, sitting on one of the many benches surrounding an impressive dragon statue situated in the center of the plaza, and happily finishing off the last of his second komodo sausage skewer. His spirits had lifted considerably now that his belly was full and he had a generous amount of spiced jerky for later. He'd even picked up a new whetstone for sharpening his boomerang as well as some inexpensive scrolls detailing a few basic sword techniques.
After taking a moment to lick his fingers with healthy satisfaction, he dug out the scrolls and began going through them, gazing at the images with a look of focused concentration. If he wasn't going to have the benefit of a real instructor, then he was just going to teach himself.
So intent was he on his study that he didn't even notice when the surrounding crowds parted with murmurs of hushed awe. In fact, it wasn't until he felt the ground shudder under the weight of some two dozen armored rhinos that he looked up from his reading.
His heart sank into his stomach when he realized they were marching straight toward him.
Despite the frantic pace at which his heart was beating, Zuko remained outwardly calm as he reached into his tunic and brought forth the drawing he'd done of Ursa.
"Junjie, when I first came to you, I told you I was looking for this woman," he said urgently, holding the image aloft so Junjie could see it.
"Hey, I know her," the old man crowed, then rubbed his chin distractedly as he looked around at the landscape, "lives 'round 'ere in fact…"
"Yes, I know," interrupted Zuko impatiently, "that's why you brought me here, remember?"
Junjie seemed not to hear as his shaggy brows knit together in thought. "Now what was 'er name…?"
"That's not important," the prince insisted quickly, putting the picture away. "Can you just tell me where to find her house?"
"Oh sure!" nodded Junjie, "It's a big ol' estate jus' outside th' east end o'town, right by th' coast. Ye can't miss it!"
Once armed with a clear direction of where he needed to go, Zuko began gathering up his things as he spoke.
"Thank you for all your help, Junjie. I think I can find my way from here."
"Ye sure ye don' wanna ride in'ta town?" asked the old man as he watched Zuko climb down from the wagon.
Zuko shook his head as he strapped his swords to his back. "It's best if no one sees me with you."
"Oooh, so that's how it is eh?" remarked the old man slyly. "No no," he continued dismissively in response to Zuko's questioning look, "ye ain't hurtin' me' feelins none. I was a young'un once too, an' ye can't make a good impression on th' ladies with an ol' geezer 'round, can ya?"
Deciding it best not to refute Junjie's mistaken line of thinking, Zuko merely shrugged a let out an awkward chuckle as Momo alighted on his shoulder.
"Well, go on then," prompted the old man.
Zuko nodded, and was about to turn away, when suddenly Junjie's hand shot out and gripped the prince tightly by the arm. Startled, Zuko looked up to see Junjie's clear grey eyes burning into him with fierce intensity.
"He is not the last," he whispered fervently. "There are others if you know where to look for them."
Shrinking back in alarm, the prince could only stare at the man in wide-eyed shock. But before he could ask for an explanation, Junjie's face broke into a wide grin, the passionate clarity replaced once more with his customary, befuddled composure.
"Whelp! It was good meetin' ye!" he chirped happily, then he reached out and patted Momo on the head endearingly, "Bye-bye, kitty."
And with that, Junjie snapped the reins and started off down the road, leaving Zuko still reeling from the strange outburst only a moment before. Shaking his head, he turned and began walking in the other direction. He was about to dismiss the occurrence as another manifestation of Junjie's senility when the old man's voice called back after him.
"See ya' around, Zuko!"
The prince halted in his tracks with a gasp, but when he spun around, the wagon had crested the rise of the hill and was already out of sight.
Both girls were grinning as they made their way through the bustling streets, pleased with the purchases they had made: two small boxes of fine tea, some sausages for dinner, and a bulging bag of fresh fruit and vegetables.
"I can't believe I got such a good price on these rare jade leaves," Toph exclaimed happily. "Iroh's going to be thrilled."
"Yeah," agreed Katara, "I don't think that guy expected you to know so much about teas. You were really impressive."
"I know," shrugged the blind girl smugly. "But really, it's typical of most people. They realize I'm blind and just expect me to be helpless."
"Not every blind person can see with their feet, Toph," reasoned Katara.
"But that's just it!" argued Toph, "my bending had nothing to do with it. The things I've learned from Iroh don't rely on that. It's just touch and smell; something anyone can do. People seem to think that just because I can't see, I can't do anything else either. It's annoying."
"Well, you certainly changed that tea seller's mind," Katara giggled. "He'll probably never look at a blind person the same way again."
"Then my work here is done!"
Over the course of their conversation, the crowd had thickened as they neared their destination until they were unable to go any further.
"What's with all the people?" wondered Toph aloud.
"I don't know," the water bender mused. "Come on, let's find out."
Taking her friend by the arm, she began pushing her way through the throng of bodies, weaving between the people to get closer to the front of the crowd with Toph in tow. When they finally broke free into the main square, Katara stopped and gasped. There were Fire Nation soldiers everywhere; some mounted on war rhinos, others standing in regimented lines.
"Oh no," she breathed, and then leaning down toward Toph, whispered urgently, "We need to find Sokka and get out of here."
"I already found him," Toph answered grimly, holding a hand up and pointing toward a crowd of young men.
Looking in that direction, Katara spotted her brother surrounded by no less than fifty other boys his age, all of whom were being addressed by a burly looking soldier. She watched in dread as he turned and caught sight of her, lifting his hand in a half-hearted wave with a look of resignation on his face.
She was about to head over there and find out what was going on when a woman next to her held her back.
"The time for farewells is over, my dear," she admonished kindly.
"What do you mean?" panicked Katara, "that's my brother over there!"
"Oh, a brother!" the elderly woman smiled, "you must be so proud!"
"Proud? I don't even know what's going on!"
"Why, conscription, dearie. Didn't you hear?"
"Hear what?" Katara whispered with a growing horror.
"They've lowered the age requirements," stated the woman cheerfully.
Turning back to look at her brother, Katara felt her heart nearly stop and her eyes went wide with disbelief as the lady finished her explanation.
"Your brother is a Fire Nation soldier now."
Commercial break
Author's note: Well, the tree is trimmed, the presents bought, and the relatives visited. Whew! Of course, I still have cookies to bake, my son's holiday party at school to attend, and tons of wrapping to do…oh, and two days left at work...ugh.
So I may or may not get another chapter up before Christmas. I will TRY, but I won't make any promises. This is a busy time of year for a working mom, and writing time is scarce (hence, the lateness of this update…for which I deeply apologize.)
ALSO, as promised, the scene Steamboat Ghost selected for me to draw is now available for viewing at my DeviantArt page (all new artwork will be posted there from now on, so be sure to check there for updates! see my bio for the link or go to wrensharpbeak(dot)deviantart(dot)com ).
Thank you again, Steamboat! Your reviews are always a joy to read.
And thank you also to the rest of you who so graciously leave comments, reactions, critiques, and encouragement. I'll be selecting another reader from this story's reviews and that person will get to pick what scene from my series I will illustrate next.
So speak up, be honest, and let me know what you think!
