A/N: Thank you for the charming reviews. As a neophyte, I understand now why people put so much emphasis in them.
VIII – Keeping the Peace at the Peace Summit
They knocked on Suki's door. Someone opened the door, a different Kyoshi warrior for the smell of her.
"Hey, fan-girl," Toph asked, going generic. "Where is fan-girl number one?" The girl that opened the door seemed lost.
"You mean Suki?" She asked doubtfully. Before Toph could answer, Katara intervened.
"Yes, we mean Suki. She wanted to go with us to the bath house." The girl turned her head, toward the room.
"SUKI!!" She yelled. "It's for you!" Suki appeared at the door.
"Great to see you." She said eagerly. "Let's go"
"We need clothes." Katara said.
"Yeah, Katara's are in her room and we don't want to interrupt the guys right now. They are eating." Toph offered this as an explanation, but deep down she knew that it was more accurate to say that Suki did not want to see Sokka, she did not want to hear Aang, and that the entire Katara-Zuko situation was just too darn uncomfortable, so it was better for everyone's sanity to keep their distance. Suki assented.
"I have clothes. I have Earth Kingdom and Fire nation colors."
"I am in the South Pole, Suki. I need to wear Water Tribe furs." Katara said. There was some head scratching, until Suki volunteered to send her fellow warrior and roommate to get Katara's clothes.
"The ceremonial robe with the white fur trimming, and the symbol of the waning moon in the middle of the chest." She was explaining carefully to Suki's friend, while Toph sat on Suki's bed trying to asses by the feel of her fingers what clothes she liked best.
"There are no guys eating in your room, are they Toph?" Suki asked. "We can go get your clothes."
Toph shifted uncomfortably.
"The Hippo and the Pebble may be there, crying for my disappearance." She said lamely. "I don't want to indulge them by showing up." Katara, who had finished filling the other girl's head with instructions up to the type of beads she would need for her loopies, sat next to Toph.
"Do you need some help with clothes, Toph?" She asked. Toph shook her head.
"Of course not. I brought my uniforms, I chose them myself. I am good to go." She said with confidence. Katara put an arm around her shoulders.
"You're blind, Toph." She reminded her sweetly. "You probably matched the colors incorrectly and your uniforms may not be appropriate for the summit. Why don't you let me and Suki help you with these?" Toph sighed in relief. She did not want to accept it aloud, and she hated the idea of asking for help, but during the last thirty minutes wearing something nice had become suddenly very important. The Spirits knew why.
"Fine." She did her best to sound grumpy. "But just because you and Fan-girl want to do it. Not that I need help or anything."
"Of course not. Come, let's get you in one of these." Suki and Katara made her try various selections from Suki's wardrobe. She laid down some rules first, though: no Kyoshi warrior apparel, only Earth Kingdom colors and absolutely no frills. The clothes seemed to fit her funny. Too tight in the chest and hips, and kinda lose at the waist, so Suki and Katara had to tie a sash firmly around her middle. Toph blew some of the hair that permanently covered her face.
"What is wrong with these clothes?" She mumbled. "They don't fit."
"Actually," Suki said, and there was some wonder in her voice, "they may fit too well."
"What are you talking about? I can hardly breathe on these."
She felt Suki turning, as if she was looking at Katara.
"She has no idea, does she?" She asked, not even attempting to whisper.
"Don't think so." The waterbender answered.
Toph scratched herself under her armpit.
"Idea of what?"
"Stop doing that!" Katara scolded. And then, more gently, she added: "Well, you have blossomed during the last year." Toph felt the euphemism in her voice.
"What do you mean?"
"You have developed." Suki said. She was still at loss.
"For the Spirits!" She exclaimed frustrated. "Can either of you two make any sense? I'm blind, I don't even know what 'blossoming' means. Is this like a code word for the spring season or something? Remember, I don't do subtle."
"Your body has, well, increased. It is full of curves." Suki said, helpfully.
Toph understood right there that they were trying to tell her about her boobs. She had had some trouble during the last couple of years trying to get bindings tight enough to solve some of the problems she encountered while running around, like the jiggling. She hated the jiggling. But never occurred to her that the curves would have any other implication besides making her uniforms uncomfortable.
"You are talking about my breasts, aren't you?" She demanded. "What is wrong with them?" She insisted, grabbing them like two balls.
"There is nothing wrong with them." Katara said patiently. "By the contrary…"
"Be specific!"
"They are slightly bigger than average, just enough to make people turn their heads. And you are so slim, with that long neck, well, people are bound to stare."
"Stare .. is that a good thing?" Her frustration was abruptly replaced with confusion.
"A very good thing." Toph seemed unconvinced.
"What kind of people?" She insisted.
"You know, people. Guys actually."
Toph frowned.
"You two are supposed to be some kind of babes or something, at least everyone says that you are. What do you mean people stare? At me or at you?"
"At you." Katara said.
She was still skeptical.
"But how do I know what you mean by average? Like compared to what? To yours?"
Katara sighed in exasperation, stood up and came over her.
"Here." She said, grabbing Toph's hand and putting it on top of her own breast. "Have a feel so you can tell the difference."
Toph measured Katara while at the same measuring herself. Comprehension dawned on her face, and her frown changed places with the sunniest smile Katara has seen in a long time.
"Sweeetttt!!" She said. Katara groaned.
"Suki, your turn!" She ordered, but just before Suki came over, the door opened. Toph heard her two friends gasp and a panicky voice at the door saying 'Sorry!' before the door slammed shut again.
"Who was that?" She asked, but before either of the two answered, she heard Aang's and Zuko's voices at the door, debating something in hush tones.
"Katara!" Aang called suddenly. "We are leaving your dress at the door. Hope it's the one you wanted. Bye!"
Silence pervaded the room where the three girls stood, frozen.
"Did they see..?" Toph started.
"Oh yeah!" Suki said, and Toph could hear her covering her mouth. Katara was probably doing the same. It took her a moment to realize that the other two were giggling. Or starting to.
"Someone will be having nightmares tonight" Suki said in a singsong.
"I should be embarrassed." Katara said with wonder. "But I actually think this is kinda funny." Toph heard her crossing her arms. "Serves them right for not knocking." Her self righteous attitude coming back, thankfully. "Come on Toph, let's have a bath and get dressed".
0o0o0o0o0o
The Bath House was hot. Thank goodness. The Mechanist had been at work at the South Pole, as a personal favor to one of his favorite fellow prisoners, Chief Hakoda. Toph could feel the wood and, mercifully, some hot stones that were used to create the sauna effect. She kept making the stones bounce by moving her feet. She was in heaven. The bath house was so far the only thing she liked about the South Pole. Since traveling there not only had she lost her sight, she had also lost the integral part of herself that earth was. From the healthy layer of soil that she liked carrying around, to the incredible pleasure of throwing rocks for fun. Usually at the Dai Li, when they were distracted. To keep them on their toes. Ah, yes, and to remind them who was boss.
"I miss my healthy cover of earth" Toph said, while sweating. After the sauna, they were supposed to plunge in cold water. She was looking forward to it.
Katara seemed distracted. For once, she did not complain about Toph's penchant for dirt. Toph nudged her with her foot.
"What's up Sweetness? Why are you in la-la land?"
"Do you know what's going on with Zuko?" Katara asked point blank. "He was being really confusing before."
"Confused is pretty much his status quo. Nothing new there."
"He was being cryptic." Katara insisted. "You usually know everything about everyone. Are you sure you don't know?"
Toph shrugged her shoulders.
"That was back then, in the real world, where there are rocks and earth. Over here, in this winter wasteland I know nothing, I hear nothing and of course, I see nothing. That last one was from before." She added helpfully.
Suki intervened, before the conversation became an argument.
"What are you guys talking about?"
"Zuko," Katara said, "seemed really set on talking to me alone. He was being intense."
"Uy!" Suki said, and then, "wait, what happened to the moratorium on one-on-one's with Zuko? It lasted like what? Fifteen minutes?"
"It was him this time. He seems to be very concerned about something. Well, he's always concerned about things, but I think this time it was about Aang."
"He's always concerned about Aang. He treats him like his little brother. No, wait, almost like … his son." For the first time in several years a very weird realization dawned on Toph. "Actually, it's almost like you. Sparky treats Aang like you do. You guys act like his parents, not his friends!" She exclaimed the same way Sokka will scream when succeeding with an invention.
"What gibberish are you babbling now?" Katara said surly.
"It's not gibberish. All this self-sacrifice thing that you and Sparky have going on, from not wanting to hurt Aang's feelings, like ever, and always trying to protect him from the ugliness of life, and even the idea of atoning for him losing his people, sounds like parenting to me." She stopped for a second. "Unless of course we are talking about my parents or Sparky's dad."
"We do not treat Aang like our son! Suki, do we treat Aang like our son?"
"Well," Suki said pensively, "you two were gushing the other day about how good he was getting at his protocol lessons and doing his political peace-keeping assignments. You did sound parental."
Katara gasped. Toph heard her moving a hand towards her face. Probably to cover her mouth. Yep, realization sat in. And then, as expected, Katara brushed that off.
"Wanting to help him restore his race does not mean we are his parents. It was a vision, a shared vision mind you, regarding his future. I mean, our future."
"Did it ever occur to you that the vision was not about you being the vessel of his babies but about both of you helping him find suitable, I don't know, concubines? Like, lots of them? Enough to repopulate at least one of the temples?"
"So," Suki interjected, "let me get this right: you want them to stop acting like Aang's parents and become his pimps?"
"You know? it was way easier when you were just Sokka's quiet girlfriend. Arm candy is not supposed to talk." Toph grunted.
"For the Moon, what are you saying? Concubines? Aang will never accept such a preposterous idea."
"So says the future wife of the Last Airbender." Toph mumbled. She reclined against the wall, her hands behind her head. She suddenly felt tired. Very tired. "So." She asked abruptly. "Are you going to try the goods finally or do we need to keep watching out for you and Zuko in dark corners and stuff?"
"I …" Katara said, hesitantly "… I will be trying the goods."
"Please don't hold back you enthusiasm for us. We can handle it." Toph said.
She heard Katara moving her head, probably shaking it. Then she said aloud, almost to herself.
"I am with Aang. Zuko is with Mai. Nothing else is possible." Suki leaned toward them.
"Actually, you are mistaken. It's quite possible. In the Earth Kingdom we call this the 'monkey's philosophy'." She explained. "Is very simple: never, ever, let go of a branch unless you are grabbing another."
Toph assented knowingly.
"And it seems to me that you are already holding pretty tight to the next one."
Katara exhaled.
"Would you guys let it rest? Zuko is with Mai" a pause, and then, "Again."
"A whose fault is that?" Suki said. "I remember after the comet when we went to liberate the other Kyoshi warriors you told Sokka that it was our obligation to liberate her." Toph perked her ears.
"Wait, let me get this straight. You were the one who liberated Zuko's girlfriend from prison? I mean, this is the same girlfriend that he didn't remember to liberate himself?"
"She saved my dad's life. I owed her."
"Woman, you are an expert at sinking your own ship!"
"He seemed happy enough."
"Yep. That's why he kept rubbing his chest every time he looked at you." Suki said. "And going away on those trips that last months."
"Now I remember, that was when you suddenly, after an entire year of mothering Aang, decided that he was not your son anymore." Toph straightened her back. "I think you were terrified of the Zuko possibility. And of course, a couple of years later, bam! bananas."
"At least we were both single before the bananas incident." Katara volunteered, sadly. "Neither was dating anyone then."
"Yeah, but you hook up with Aang again right after the bananas." Toph said. Katara put her head in her hands.
"That was the idea. In theory, we were saying goodbye forever after the bananas. I was supposed to be with Aang and he was supposed to, I don't know, date someone else. Aang was the one who came up with the Commitment Ceremony idea. He was so happy when we got back together, that he said he was eager to settle down and start repopulating the airbenders. And I just couldn't breathe. And then you were back, going all cranky with dealing with the Dai Li and Zuko was leaving, saying that he was needed in the Fire Nation, so I told Aang that I was coming to the South Pole to help my dad. And I've been here for the last ten months. Aang has been coming back and forth. And sometimes we are happy, like before. I honestly thought that with time, everything would be OK. That I would be OK."
Toph felt sad. As sad as Katara sounded. She decided to let the entire conversation go. There was just so much a person could dig within another's soul without losing oneself in the process. Besides the fact that empathy had never been her forte, she understood that this was a decision that only Katara could make for herself. She put her hand on top of Katara's and turned her head toward Suki.
"Let's drop this. For now. So Suki, what's the story with Sokka?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because that entire thing back in Katara's room was just itchy."
Suki shrugged.
"Sokka is wondering and it drives me nuts."
"What do you mean 'wondering'?'
"He is having second thoughts. About everything. But mostly, about the implications of commitment. He wonders about the world he is quitting. Which is as much as to say that he is having all these doubts about all the women he will be renouncing because of me."
"And you're not angry?" asked Katara in complete shock, sitting up sharply.
"I understand where he is coming from. When I look at other guys, I can recognize that there are men that are more handsome or richer or funnier than Sokka. Definitively funnier. But fidelity is a choice. There's always going to be temptation. It's like going on a diet. The fact that you are on a diet does not mean you cannot appreciate the dessert table, just that you are not eating from it."
"This is way too deep for me." Toph mumbled.
"I am not saying that I want him to stray. Far from that. But I don't want him with doubts. If he needs to work things out of his system, let's do it now before anything between us is permanent. I rather he solves his doubts now that he is 19, than in twenty years from now, when we have a zillion kids and I am old, fat and incapable of facing life without him."
"Yeah" assented Katara, "Gran-Gran always says that with men the rule is simple: those who do not dirty the entrance, will mud the exit."
"What does that even mean?" Toph grumbled. "That's gotta be the most cryptic, stupid, wise saying that I ever heard."
"It means that men who do not stray at the beginning of a relationship, will stray later in the relationship.'
"An optimist your Grandma, isn't she?"
"What she means is that men need to get things out of their system before committing permanently to anything. Gran-Gran calls it 'sowing their wild lichen'. Sokka is in serious wondering mode. I talked to him today."
"Really? What did he say?" Suki sounded between hopeful and doubtful.
"He completely denied it, of course. I think it has to do, in part, with Zuko's and Aang's popularity. You need to understand that for a long time Sokka was the good looking guy in the group. Whenever we went, there was always a least one girl who liked him. Aang, well, he was not that popular back then. And Zuko says that he was rubbish at romance. But now, there are all these fan girls who scream like hen-banshees every time they show up and say really embarrassing things to them. Sokka feels left out. The fact that they are both powerful benders with political power does not help. And finally, it's like everyone knows that Sokka is taken, while with Zuko and Aang is not that clear. The on-and-off thing with Mai and the fact that people still do not really picture Aang and me together, helps fuel the possibility. I guess all those plays out there insinuating that he is my relative or my child out of wedlock with some rogue airbender monk, do not help."
"So, what did you tell him?" Toph asked.
"I told him to put his act together or that Suki would dump him for a very good looking guy with no commitment issues. She is the head of the Kyoshi warriors, for moonsakes, she can have whomever she wants."
"That's the point." Suki said wretchedly. "I don't want anyone else. I get angry at him and toy with the idea of making eyes to other guys and I even go as far as to ogle Zuko a bit" the last comment brought some catching of breath "Whaat? Is not like I am the only one doing it! But that is as far as it goes. Since that fateful day where I saw him dressed as a Kyoshi warrior my heart was his. He has no sense of ridicule, his jokes are so bad that I get rashes, and he still won't kiss me under the moon, but I don't think I will ever be able to feel the same for anyone else. After all these years, he still makes my heart flutter."
"Give him some space." Katara counseled. "He needs to make up his mind by himself."
"I am giving him all the space in the world, but it's not easy I'm telling you. At least you don't have to deal with Aang's commitment issues, just with yours."
Toph started coughing. She wasn't trying to be funny or anything. She just suddenly couldn't breathe and coughing help her with whatever was logged on her throat.
"Are you OK Toph?" Katara asked.
"What time is it?" She asked, while recovering her composure. "I think we need to go. They are probably already reconvening for the afternoon sessions and I don't want to miss dinner. I'm actually hungry." She stood up resolutely. "Which way to the freezing pool?"
0o0o0o0o
When the three young women showed up at the Great Hall the place was already full. The Great Hall, Toph was told, was being built by the northern Waterbenders in a style similar to the one at the North Pole, until Sokka showed up with new plans and made them do different things, like decorating columns with different symbols from all the nations and vaulting the roof like a dome. Suki said that it was beautiful, and that the entire place was almost otherworldly. The way the meetings were being set up was first a general assembly meeting where all the delegates would present their main issues to be put in the agenda and then would break in smaller groups to reach some agreements. As far as Toph understood the process, the entire thing was more a "to see and be seen" kind of meeting than anything else. No one really expected to solve anything at the Peace Summit but not being there meant losing more than just a conversation with a fellow delegate.
Toph felt self conscious in her robes, dress, whatever it was that she was wearing. She had no idea, really, how she looked but she knew that Katara and Suki had put a lot of effort on keeping her hair out of her face, on tightening the sash until she couldn't breathe, on arranging the ermine-sable fur that lined her collar to create a 'halo' effect, at least that what Suki called it, and on tightening these very warm, soft-feeling boots up to her knees. She actually liked the boots, and aside from the fact that the clothes were tight fitting, she felt warm. So she was feeling better that she would have felt dressed in one of her uniforms, but self conscious nonetheless.
Suki was dressed, as expected, in the winter version of her Kyoshi garb, which Toph could only imagine was really-really warm. Deep down she still couldn't figure out why island-dwelling women would choose such a cumbersome outfit for day-to-day wearing, much less for fighting and moreover still (hearing other people describe it) what the story was with the make-up. If the idea was to scare the enemy away well, granted, they probably weren't getting any dates, but as far as inspire fear or awe, the only casualties were most likely beauticians. Being raised in a rarefied upper class environment had taught Toph a lot regarding the comfort value that people placed on traditions. So if the only claim to fame that the little island in the middle of nowhere had was a badly dressed, cranky-butch Avatar that died over two hundred years ago, well who was she to question the need to remind the world of that fact.
Katara on the other hand was probably looking very Water-Tribeish because she heard several delegates commenting on her appearance, the length of her robes, and her hairdo. Toph imagined a tower of loopies, beads and braids, specially when Sokka asked
"What happened to your head? Are you breeding buzzard-wasps or something?"
Katara was really upset at the comment, and even Aang's soothing "Beehives are all the rage now" couldn't calm her down. Zuko remained conspicuously silent during the entire sibling incident, which could have ended in Sokka's drowning if it wasn't because Sparky intervened changing the subject.
"Hey, Champion." He said. "You look different."
"Me?" Toph immediately got in a defensive fighting stance. "Different how?"
"Well, you know, taller. Slimmer. Clean."
"Actually Toph." Aang said scratching the back of his head. "You look nice. Very nice."
She shot an accusatory finger to where their noses should be.
"Well?" She asked threateningly. Someone grabbed her finger and moved it aside.
"We are not lying." Zuko said.
"You look beautiful." Sokka said and Toph realized that it was the first time in almost five years of knowing him that he had said something like that. And she felt curiously proud of the fact. She hid her smile but knew that her cheeks were burning. All the effort placed in looking cool and collected usually went to pieces under the onslaught of her blushes. She hated her blushes. She turned her head towards her friends.
"Let's go mingle." She said. "I still need to say hello to all the people I have been avoiding since I got to this place."
She grabbed Katara's arm and let her friend guide her to greet all the people she could hear but not see.
It seemed like everyone she had ever met while running around with the Avatar was there. She said hello to Chief Hakoda, who was talking to Sparky's mom. Sparky's mom was a bit of a mystery to everyone. A sweet mannered woman who exuded calm and determination, who spoke no ill of her currently imprisoned spouse and who, as the rumor mill would have it, visited her daughter at the asylum every day.
"Azula must be missing her." Katara mumbled in Toph's ear. The earthbender assented.
"I remember when you went with Sparky on a ninja mission to look for her." Toph said in a low voice. "Just after the war ended. Zuko was out of his mind."
Katara whispered back.
"With good reason. Ozai had kept her locked away by paid mercenaries that answered only to him. How she didn't go crazy I don't know."
Toph had never asked this before. When Zuko came back with his mom he did not speak of how he had rescued her to anyone, and every time someone asked Katara she would just answer that the story was not hers to tell. As far as Toph knew no one, specially not Aang, had an idea of what transpired on that mission. She had the impression, based on how Katara's voice always grew darker, that whatever secret they were keeping regarding the operation involved actions that Aang would not approve of. She just knew it.
"Why you?" She asked suddenly. She had always wanted to know, but it wasn't until right now that she felt she could ask. Katara shrugged.
"Because he felt that I would understand and help with what he needed to do. Besides, we work very well together as a team."
Toph tapped her chin.
"That is interesting." She said more to herself than to Katara. "He trusts you to see the worst in him." Katara did not answer.
Then they ran into Haru and Teo. She knew before approaching them that it was Haru because she could hear Sokka asking with eagerness "So, what do you think about my new defensive movements? Look what Master Piandao is teaching me, look, check it out. Do you like it?" Haru was obviously relieved to see Toph and Katara because he almost ran towards them.
After embracing and exchanging sincere pleasantries with Haru and Teo, they ran into a group of sandbenders. Katara had to hold Toph back, who wanted to start kicking their butts right there. "Honor-less leeches!" She called them under her breath and Katara had to drag her away.
After dealing with Gran-Gran's grueling about her disappearance, she ran into the entire White Lotus contingent. They were in a rowdy corner drinking a horribly smelling brew that she suspected was the infamous Moonshine Tundra Vodka. She supposed that it was just a matter of minutes before the charming and enlightened group started making off color jokes under the influence of such concoction, but old harmless looking guys like these were deceiving. They were probably using the Tundra vodka just to clean their dentures before dinner. She did not linger not because she didn't enjoy the company (Bumi and Iroh having a conversation made the last 24 hours boring in comparison) but because she kept running into people she was supposed to know or who have heard of her and wanted to say hello anyway.
Eventually, she ran into Kuei, her boss. She knew it was him because of the smell of Bosco.
"Dammed it with the emotionally deprived guy!" She whispered to Katara. "Even Bumi and Aang left their pets in the stables. Why does he have to be any different?"
"Master Bei Fong!" He called delighted. "You are here! Finally!" He was so thrilled that he clasped her two hands in his. She did not waste a minute.
"Why do you have to impose this annoying beast on everyone, Kuei?" She asked, exasperated.
He sounded a bit hurt.
"You were nowhere to be found. What I am supposed to do without Bosco?" She exhaled.
"Act like a King. Like we practiced, remember?" She made a gesture with her hand.
"What are you trying to do?" Katara asked with curiosity.
"I am trying to summon some servants to order around. This gesture usually works in Ba Sing Se."
"This is the South Pole. Let me do it." She went to get some servants and Toph went back to Kuei. He was still grabbing her hand.
"Kuei." She asked impatient, removing her hand. "Did you do as I told you? Did you leave General How in charge?"
"Yes Master Bei Fong." He said. "He is in charge."
"And did you gave him the packet of instructions I left regarding the Dai Li?"
"Yes, I did."
"Good boy. And what about Long Feng? Please tell me that you did as I instructed and sent him as an exchange prisoner to Fire Lord Iroh in the Fire Nation. You did not leave him in an Earth Kingdom cell guarded by Dai Li's?"
"No, Master Bei Fong, I shipped him to the Fire Nation the day before sailing here."
At that moment Katara came back.
"Katara, please tell the servants to take Bosco here to the stables where Appa, Flopsie and Momo are staying. Tell them not to remove his coat, because you know, even though bears are covered in fur and are originally from cold climates, Bosco here may get cold."
Kuei made a noise, almost like a whimper. Toph raised a finger commanding silence.
"Kuei." She said firmly. "We talked about this, remember. No more bear when we are doing kingly things like negotiating with other nations. We can have bear back when we are not working." He assented. She heard Katara stifling a noise. Toph couldn't tell if she was trying to contain a laugh or a sob, but she didn't really care. "Now, Keui, we are going to go back to the meetings and we are going to listen to everything the other nations have to say before we go refusing to talk to people just because someone is not here and you don't know what to do. Is that right?"
"Yes, it is. I am so happy to have you back Master Bei Fong. I have been designing all these plans for the palace that I want to talk to you about. What do you think about a new garden off the west wing?"
"What do I care about gardens off the west wing Kuei? I am blind. But before we go down the path of this conversation, what is this that I am hearing about you not backing Bumi's heir choice for Omashu?"
"Well, my advisors tell me that there is no precedent for a non royal inheriting any of the earth thrones unless they were won in battle."
"Does that really matter? You are the Earth King, you can create new precedent."
"The laws of the kingdom are ancient. If we don't respect the laws we don't respect the kingdom."
Toph puffed.
"If it's a battle you want, it can be arranged. I'll talk to Bumi and I am sure he can lost his kingdom to Haru in a battle any day. For earthsakes Kuei, you are being stubborn for the sake of being annoying. Stop meddling with Bumi's business and say yes."
"Bumi is my great-grand uncle, he understands as well as I do the obligations of the royal earth families. That is the reason he brought this up at the Assembly. To pressure me."
"Bumi usually doesn't make mistakes. He knows you. He probably brought it up at the Assembly to give you a chance to see the point of view of the other nations. The world has changed, and your kingdom needs to change too. You spent several years walking the world with Bosco, for the Spirits you even worked in a Fire Nation circus! How are you, of all people, going to tell me that those old laws make any sense? Unless … unless you have something against Haru in particular?"
He seemed uncomfortable.
"There won't be any heirs." He said ruefully. "In some years Omashu will be in the same position it is today."
Toph arched her brows surprised. So Katara was right after all. It was the alternative lifestyle that was coloring Kuei's decision.
"I cannot believe you." She said slowly. "The heir situation can be arranged, I assure you. If I promise you, if I give you my word that there will be heirs, Would you consider backing up Bumi and letting this rest?"
Kuei did not hesitate.
"If this is important to you Master Bei Fong, I will do it. Now, what do you think about my rock garden idea?"
"If you are going to do gardens," she answered tiredly, "you should do public gardens for the people of the lower ring to enjoy. Maybe even a park for the kids to play."
"Well, this was supposed to be a rock garden for you to practice your bending, but I understand your idea about the park. What about I built you a rock garden anyway and two parks, one for the lower ring kinds and another for the middle ring kids?"
Toph pinched her nose.
"You should get rid of the entire 'upper-middle-lower ring' concept altogether, but I understand that the city has looked like this for a millennia. Anyway, don't bother with the rock garden, I won't be needing it."
He was surprised.
"Why?" He asked in shock. "Are you quitting bending?"
"No Kuei, I am not quitting bending, I am quitting Ba Sing Se. I am officially renouncing my job, as of today, effective immediately. I am not going to help you find my replacement, you have the Avatar and the Crown Fire Prince for that. Also, I won't train her/him/it/whatever you get. I am moving to a tropical island to practice my sandbending in preparation for the day I will be storming those leeches stronghold and make them pay for a lifetime of iniquity."
Katara contained a gasp. Toph realized that this was the first time she had voiced her future plans out loud, but it was as good a moment as any. After all, without her current job she was just another unemployed teenager full of angst, bitterness and repressed hormonal frustrations so she better put all that energy to good use. Anyway, at least it was better than making out with her best friend's future committed guy.
Kuei grabbed her hand again.
"Master Bei Fong." He said, pain in his voice. "Are you leaving us? the Dai Li? Bosco? Me?"
"Yes."
"You cannot do that." He said resolutely. "I won't allow it. Without you the palace won't be the same."
"You will get over it. That's life. People leave. People come. Sometimes, it rains." Her two copper philosophy bought her the nanosecond needed to retrieve her hand. "Don't sound so miserable Kuei." She said seriously, with feeling. "It's not that I don't like you. Actually, you are the only nice thing in that palace of yours. But I cannot handle your evil-minded minions, I am allergic to your zoo, and your city is full of rules and laws. My spirit is slowly dying in there. And I need to get myself back." She turned away and grabbed Katara's arm. She could heard him voice her name.
"Toph." He called. "Please, don't go." She stopped for a moment. He never called her Toph. She thought for a second about how lonely he always seemed, his only sources of happiness the smelly bear and her acerbic comments, and compassion rose in her heart. She turned back to him, and placed a hand in his cheek.
"Goodbye Kuei. Getting to know you was the only highlight of last year." He covered her hand with his and she let it rest on his face for a moment. She could feel him closing his eyes tight, and his own hand was shaking. She removed her hand softly. "Let's go Katara." She said and walked away.
0o0o0o0o
Chief Hakoda of the Most Southern Water Tribe opened the Fourth Session of the General Assembly of the First Official Peace Summit since the End of the One Hundred Year Old War Started by the Fire Nation under the Misguided Rule of Sozin the Unwise, followed by Azulon the Ambitious, continued by Ozai the Bend-less and finished by Crown Fire Prince Zuko the Befuddled (actually, it was Zuko the Brave as per the official records but Toph kept calling him by the wrong name just to hear him abuse Agni's genealogy) together with Avatar Aang, the Last Airbender.
The first order of things was the official salute of the delegations, which included Earth Kingdom's kingdoms, the Northern Water Tribe, the Fire Nation, whatever was left of the scattered Southern Water Tribes, the Kyoshi representatives, the sandbenders, the swamp benders, which kept talking aloud about the marvel of wearing clothes, and a complete assortment of smaller groups and towns that came to make sure their interests did not get overrun by the big powers, including a couple of chummy-chummy tribes called the Gan Jins and the Zhangs.
During the Assembly, the friends were sitting with their respective groups. Toph, who had just quit her job, decided that sitting with Kuei's delegation was probably not appropriate, so after considering her options, she decided to sit with Aang. He was sitting apart, alone, as the last representative of his lost race and as the Avatar. Katara and Sokka were next to their dad, Zuko next to his mother and uncle and even Suki was surrounded by all her Kyoshi-friends, but she was an outsider here. There was no official delegation from Gaoling, her parents were far away, the Pebble and the Hippo were probably in the stables for all she knew, and she had no current alliances to speak off, except her friends. So ignoring the uncomfortable beating of her heart, she decided to sit with Aang. He seemed happy to see her when she came over.
"Thank you." He said, genuine joy in his voice. She shrugged.
"Don't mention it. I am as much the last of something as you are." She answered sitting next to him. Yep, said the hag, the last kiss-bender.
After the first order of things, Chief Hammi, from one of the skeletal remaining southern water tribes, proposed the discussion of the unification of the southern water tribes under one ruler. The idea was survival, and if the last one hundred years had taught then anything, it was that scattered small groups were easier to defeat and annihilate than cohesive factions. Hammi's proposal was to unite under Hakoda. There was some voting, some arguments pro and against, some guy from an obscure group claiming that he may be equally qualified, but the final decision was that the unification was under Hakoda and those tribes that did not like the idea would forfeit the support of the other nations.
The second item raised in the agenda was the reconstruction of the Air Temples, the budget to help the Avatar in the rebuilding process, and the gathering of enough people to help him reconstruct the history of his race. The Fire Nation volunteered most of the budget, but some discussion arose regarding the need to make this a collective effort as the genocide affected equally the balance of the entire world. After some philosophy quoting representatives, some nostalgia arguments from very ancient gurus and some discussion regarding the situation of the current squatters living in the Northern Air Temple, there was an unanimous conclusion to help the Avatar to reconstruct as much as possible of his lost world.
By now Toph was bored out of her mind. She couldn't even entertain herself with her usual 'seeing' of what people were doing that was embarrassing. That used to be her main source of delight in large crowds. To concentrate on seeing what everyone around her was doing, and to laugh if people were doing silly or improper things. Here, in this meeting, she didn't even had that. Just the ice. She removed her bracelet and started playing with it. Bending it at will, getting funky shapes from it. She did not hear when the third item for the agenda was raised. She heard a familiar voice that she paid not attention to until at the last minute she heard the word "Gaoling" and her ears picked up.
Someone was talking about Earth Kingdom law. She knew the voice. It was Sing, one of Kuei's courtiers and advisors. He was quoting some law from seven or eight hundred years ago asking to fully revert Gaoling to its status as a vassal state of the Earth King. Toph straightened her back. Gaoling was the main producer of marble for the region and it was one of the reasons her family was so powerful. Marble exports. Gaoling was also a city-state. A rich, flourishing, city-state that thrived on commerce, open borders and an uncanny eye for a good deal. Her family was mostly responsible for it, half governors, half tyrants and a bit Maecenas they ruled the city like they ruled their trade, with business savvy. However, she also knew that a small political entity like Gaoling lacked the resources to defend itself against incursions by larger states, and it survived only on hubris and a careful political alliance with the Earth Kings. Her father always said that cities like theirs usually gave way to larger organizations like empires or nation-states. But during the war, Gaoling's neutral soul, the product of commerce, was enough to kept it alive under the protective umbrella of the Earth King. Now, as she was hearing it, the Earth Kingdom was claiming her city back. As a vassal. Based on a eight hundred year old law. She felt the space bracelet turning into a dagger. She could actually feel her nails getting longer and curving like claws. Actually, they weren't, but she could feel them nonetheless. She shifted her position about to jump and assume a fighting stance.
Bumi was the first to talk, once Sing had put the item in the agenda.
"So." Asked the old mad warrior, standing up, his voice raised. "Kuei wants to go expanding the kingdom, now? First claiming vassal cities, what is next, colonies in the North Pole? So, is the Earth King the New Fire Lord, now?" She heard Iroh saying: "Ah Bumi, that one hurt!"
Kuei said, his voice even.
"Haru can be your heir if you let this one go."
"OK!" King Bumi said happily, sitting down. Toph was aghast. Before Aang could stop her, she raised her voice.
"Are you crazy?" She yelled. "Where do you go off claiming my city as part of your kingdom?"
"Toph!" Aang whispered. "You're supposed to request the floor before you talk!" She turned to him.
"And how do I do that?"
"You raise your hand and someone will hand you the scroll of speech. You can only talk when you have the scroll."
"Who has the scroll?"
"Bumi passed it to Kuei."
"Can someone pass me the scroll?" She screamed at the audience. Being blind on ice meant she really didn't know what was going on the floor, or what the protocols were. She heard some ruffling, a lot of whispering and then a known hand grabbing her arm. Katara had left her seat to come to her. She put something in her hand. A scroll.
"So." She started again, addressing directly toward where Kuei's voice had come from. "What are you doing?"
A voice that she did not know answered.
"Under Section 75668 ordinal 49(a) of the Earth Kingdom Code, henceforth E.K. 49 for short, the Earth King has the right to claim Gaoling as a vassal state because it never stop being one." Toph was speechless. The voice continued "It has come to our attention that eighty years ago it was decided by the then Earth King that a neutral city was needed for commercial purposes while the known world was at war. Gaoling was chosen because the Bei Fongs are trusted with placing business before emotions. Nevertheless, war is no more, and the conditions that triggered such decision are not longer valid, so under E.K. 49 Gaoling reverts to its original political status and all current laws and regulations of the E.K.C. apply forthwith"
She turned to Katara and Aang.
"What language is he even speaking? Who is this person?"
"I am Lu Shi, General Counsel of the Earth Kingdom" Toph froze. She had heard of him. Nothing brought woe, misery and fear like that name. Its pull was stronger than even the Dai Li's. The word in Ba Sing Se was that whomever crossed his path would face seven years of bad luck. Mothers of children that did not want to go to bed would only need to whisper "Lu Shi is going to get you" to make the most recalcitrant child cower under the blankets in fear.
"An attorney?" She asked in shock about the low blow. "You are throwing attorneys at me?"
Somehow she had managed to avoid, for an entire year, this being. Her hypersensitivity to rules meant that she could feel his steps a mile away, and had always, always, managed to open a tunnel on the earth and go underground before having to face him. But this was the (spit) south pole, no escape tunnels here.
"I am not throwing anything at you." Kuei answered calmly. "I told you, we need to respect the laws if we are to respect the kingdom."
"You are doing this because I am quitting my job?" She asked again in utter shock.
"No." His voice still serene. You had to give it to Sokka, the acoustics of the place were excellent. "I am doing it because vassal states are wholly subject to Earth Kingdom laws."
Before she could say anything, the hated, cold, unflinching voice of Lu Shi was heard again.
"Which brings us to E.K. Daughter's Act of 3066. By section 446321 ordinal 897(a) (iii) all first born daughters of vassal noblemen within the Earth Kingdom belong, at the option of the sovereign, to the Earth King." She did not like the sound of that one.
"What did you just said?" She said starting to hyperventilate again.
"The Earth King," the attorney explained very slowly, like speaking to a five year old, "just proposed marriage to you."
"You cannot do this!!" This time she stood up.
"Well," the Earth King said almost timidly, "Gaoling is a vassal state and the Bei Fong's are my vassals. I can actually do this."
"Yeah?" She said in a bad mood. "Says who?"
"My attorneys." The Earth King explained again.
"How do you dare bring attorneys in here?" She threw an accusatory finger towards him. "Wasn't this supposed to be a peace meeting? Attorneys are not allowed at peace meetings!"
"No one told me that." He said smugly. "You left before I could finish the preparations."
"Kuei, I swear on your ancestors, if you don't drop this right now I am going to beat sense into you as soon as we get home!" Toph screamed.
"Really? You are coming home with me?"
"Toph!" Katara said hurriedly. "Stop threatening! Don't you see? You are encouraging him!"
"Who do you think you are to do this? Fight me face to face, like a man! Attorneys! Phew!" She spitted, making everyone cringe, and she was glad. "Their only purpose in life is to make and apply rules!"
"Mistress Bei Fong, the Daughter's Act of 3066 clearly says..."
"Don't you dare talk to me! Katara, the attorney is talking to me!! If it wasn't because it actually involves marriage, I would marry you just to have the pleasure of sentencing all attorneys to death in the Earth Kingdom and making your life miserable afterwards!"
The Earth King perked up.
"Does that mean you are saying yes?"
Before Toph could cross the distance and start choking Kuei, Katara and Aang had to hold her down. The entire assembly came down in chaos as she was dragged out of the meeting, polishing fourth years worth of soldier's language at the top of her lungs.
A/N: I encountered a very funny and charming story a couple of days ago called "Midsummer Madness" by BurningIce. I recommend it heartily. Not only because we share the same sense of humor, but I was surprised that some details of her story are remarkably closer to the musings of my mind. So there you have it, deep down my recommendation is a testament of self love!