Ronan was so thrilled to have such a person in his town, he insisted that the kids stay in the best guest room of his palace. He gladly loaded their pockets with gold and food, and, on humble knee, begged Toph/Erecura to bless them with her voice before they left in the morning, when there was to be a leaving fest. Not one of Toph's friends said anything to her about being a goddess until they were in the security of the suite.

Once the door was securely closed, they all turned one Toph at once.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a goddess! I'm the Avatar, I should know these things!" Aang shouted.

"I'm so sorry for burning your feet…please don't smite me…" Zuko begged.

"Wow…NOW I am so glad you joined our group!" Sokka laughed.

"Toph…why didn't you tell any of us?" Katara was the quietest to ask.

Toph, sitting on a sofa, waited until they were all quiet. She took a deep breath.

"Guys….do you honestly think I could be a goddess? I'm not Erecura."

Again, they all started yelling at her…this time she couldn't tell what each was saying.

"I know! I know, I shouldn't have done that with out telling you…but Zuko, when you said that this group of people followed the old ways, I knew right away that there would be no way I could get around it. When I was born and as I was growing up, everyone would tell me how much I resembled this goddess...even the fact that I was blind resembled her likeness. Of course, I wasn't her…everyone today would know that. But I hated being related to her…that's one reason I started to earth bend more. She was gentle and kind…and I didn't want to be in her shadow."

"But Toph…" Zuko said. "Most people would love to be an image of a god or goddess."

"You know me…I'm not most people."

Sokka shook his head. "So…wait a minute. You knew that these people would see this goddess thingy in you?"

Toph shrugged. "I didn't know for sure…but if they did, I couldn't deny them. That would only make them really mad if we tried to prove them wrong. Which was also why I didn't tell you guys. Zuko might have pulled it off, but none of you would be able to pretend properly that I was a goddess…so I figured genuine surprise would be best to convince them."

"But…Toph! You lied to them," Katara said in a worried voice. She started to pace the room. "This is bad…"

Annoyed, Toph crossed her arms. "Why is this bad? I got us gold and food…again."

Katara stopped and looked at Toph. "Yes, Toph. But you've also trapped us…again. Except this time it's not in a wooden cell. They are expecting a performance form a goddess tomorrow….how are you going to deliver that?"

Toph looked down and said quietly, "Zuko's not the only one who had regal training as a kid…"

"What?" Zuko asked.

"When mom and dad realized that I not only looked like this goddess, but that I could possess some of her qualities, they trained me. I learned from some pretty ancient people…including Erecura's Song."

Sokka snorted back a laugh. "Yay…music…again."

"It's not really music, but more of the goddess's tears for her people dying." Aang said. "I've heard of the song. The monks used to talk of how her voice could be heard echoing across ancient battle fields. Supposedly, it's the story of what a shoulder named Paddy told her when he died."

Toph nodded. "Over a thousand years ago, the nations meshed a lot more than they do today. Really, it was just clans. To be of the Earth Kingdom, really, meant that you could bend earth or were related to an earth bender. People could move around with a lot of freedom."

"I've heard this myth," Zuko chimed in. "Uncle used to tell it to me when I was little. Around this time, supposedly, there was severe drought and nothing could be grown on Fire Nation lands, and the Earth Kingdom…well, it wasn't really a kingdom yet…but it was supposed to be having a lot prosperity at the time."

Toph nodded again, and took up the rest of the tag-team story. "Most of those migrated from Fire lands to Earth lands in hope's of finding a better life. But the Earth kingdom was split at the time. The old king had died and no one knew who would take over, so a lot of fighting broke out. Who better to use as common soldiers than the newly arrived refuges? If you wanna live here, you have to fight for it."

Aang, who had been sitting on the ground, stood up and took over where Katara had been pacing. "Ok…so you know the song, and you know how this…goddess…is supposed to act. Aren't they going to be expecting something more than just you singing? What do you think they would do to us if they found out you really aren't her?"

"I don't know…I guess I never thought they would." Toph went into thought. "Would there be anymore than her just singing…" she asked herself quietly.

The room was silent for a while as each tried to think up an idea. Zuko had been sitting on the balcony of their room when an idea hit him.

"Why didn't we think of this before?" He asked out loud. The other's looked at him quizzically. He continued. "No one really knows what would happen when the goddess does her thing…even they wouldn't know…they couldn't. So…just to be convincing…Aang, why don't you go into the Spirit World and see what you can stir up?"

"Yeah!" Sokka joined in excitedly. "Yeah…like, get some spirits to act out the battle, or Paddy losing his family, or something. It'll really strike a cord with these people because they were forced to leave their lands too." Sokka chuckled to himself. "Strike a cord…I'm too funny."

Katara frowned at Sokka. "Yes…a master of wit."


The next morning, as the last minute preperations were being made to the party, Katara and Zuko were walking back from the market. Katara needed to get somethings for Toph's costume, and Aang was still "gone" in the Spirit World and Sokka was loading Appa. So, the only person that could help her was Zuko, since Toph couldn't see. Much to Katara's surprise, Zuko was very well educated in fashion, and his opinion helped her greatly. However, the conversation hadn't gone much past Toph. After picking everything out that they needed, there was nothing left to talk about on the way back to their suite.

In the awkward silence, Zuko cleared his throat. "So…you, uh…think my study of culture is…honorable?" Inwardly, he groaned, mentally kicking himself for breaking the silence with such a stupid comment.

Katara seemed not to notice it though. "I guess…yeah." She blushed a little. "I mean, as honorable as it can be for you."

Zuko gave a small smile. "Yes. Of course."

Suddenly, Katara stopped. "Zuko, I'm afraid that Toph isn't going to be able to pull this off," she said in a low whisper. He stepped closer so he could hear her better.

"Why? It's going to be pretty fool proof. These people are suckers for tradition and heratiage and stuff like that."

Katara nodded. "I know that. That's why I'm afraid. If it doesn't satisfy them, they are going to be really mad at her. I know that you can fight well and she can too, but she's not at her peek right now. Can you protect her? If something goes wrong, can you look out for her? The people like you, kind of, so maybe they won't get as mad at you. Ok?"

Zuko looked into Katara's eyes. "Don't worry. It'll be fine."