A/N: The updates to this story are going to slow down for a while. Main reason for this is Legend of Korra, and the stories that I want to write based on that series. To be honest I'm surprised I managed to keep a schedule going for this long.
Chapter 21: The Party
While the sandbenders transported Professor Zei out of the desert, he spent every waking moment examining the ancient texts Sokka and Toph provided from the library. The written language for the blind was especially intriguing, having heard about it but never finding an intact example before. Reintroducing that form of writing would help so many others like Toph, born blind or lost their sight in war.
Sokka was grateful that he and Toph wouldn't have to try getting into Ba Sing Se on their own. Knowing nothing about the walled city, Sokka appreciated the value of having Zei as a guide. Though Zei had admitted to not having access to the palace, his connections at the university were better than nothing. As far as Sokka was concerned they couldn't get to Ba Sing Se fast enough.
The trip to Ba Sing Se took only a few days. After the sandbenders dropped them off at the edge of the desert Zei led the way to a hidden port, which housed several ferries that transported refugees to Ba Sing Se. Toph hated the idea of traveling by boat again, but the ferry ride was only for a day and on calm waters. When the ferry reached the other side of the lake Sokka, Toph, and Zei boarded a train that led into Ba Sing Se.
In the middle ring Zei brought Sokka and Toph to the University, where he taught the course on desert cultures during fall semesters. All of the professors had homes on campus, and Zei offered to let Sokka and Toph live in his home for the time being. Zei even offered them a scholarship to the University as a reward for the rare tomes, but Sokka and Toph both turned it down.
Inside Zei's rather small home Sokka watched the professor read through one of the old books. "So do you know a way that we can get to the Earth King?" Sokka asked, leaning against a wall.
"Well the Dean of the University usually gets an audience every other week," Zei said, not even looking away from the pages. "He's a good friend of mine, and might be able to bring you along on his next palace visit."
"And when is that?" Sokka asked.
Zei glanced over at a calendar on the wall, then frowned. "It's supposed to be tomorrow…"
"Great!" Toph interrupted, lounging on a couch.
"But the King's having a party tonight," Zei continued, looking at the scribbled note he had on the calendar. "Usually no one sees him after one of those for a month."
"A month!" Sokka shouted.
"You can blame the Cultural Minister for that," Zei said. He closed the book he was reading and opened another one. "He's really overprotective of the Earth King."
"Sounds like my dad would get along well with him," Toph said. Before she could elaborate Toph noticed someone walking towards the front door. "Are you expecting company?"
A second later there was a knock at the door. "Oh that's just the mailman," Zei said. "Could one of you get that please?"
"Sure," Toph said. She got up and walked to the front door, opened it and held her hands out. The mailman outside saw Zei in the back of the room, then handed Toph several envelopes. After closing the door Toph dumped the envelopes onto the table Zei was at. "Here you go."
"Thanks," Zei said, setting the book aside to check his mail. Flipping through the envelopes he tossed most of them aside to open later, knowing what to expect inside them. One large envelope was different, sealed with the University insignia.
"That looks important," Sokka observed.
Zei quickly opened the envelope and pulled out a letter from inside it. "It's from the Dean," Zei said.
Dear Professor Zei
It seems that fate doesn't want us catching up in person these days. The moment I hear you're returning from the latest expedition I find that I must attend to matters in Gaoling. I'll be gone at least three weeks, if everything goes well. This means that I will miss the King's party for his bear, which I had to turn in a Lot of favors to get an invitation.
Enclosed with this letter is my invitation, assuming you-know-who hasn't seized it. My signature on it will tell the palace guards that you can attend in my place. Someone has to represent the University, and no one else I trust is available. The invitation is also good for bringing one guest as well, though I leave who that will be up to your judgment.
Sincerest apologies,
Dean Shan
Zei reached into the envelope and found the promised invitation inside. It was a scroll with a drawing of the dean and his name displayed. Beside the text describing the scroll's purpose was a note meant to transfer the rights to the invitation to Professor Zei, and a crude drawing of his face. Dean Shan wasn't known for his artistic skills, which made the crude drawing appear authentic.
"So what does that all say?" Toph asked.
Sokka took a few steps to Zei and peered over his shoulder, reading the letter and the invitation. "I don't suppose we could borrow that?" Sokka asked.
"You wouldn't fit in there," Zei answered.
"He's right," Toph said. "They'd throw you out immediately."
"Why?" Sokka asked.
"No offense, but you've got no manners," Toph answered.
"Like you're one to talk," Sokka argued.
"I was taught to be civilized and chose to leave it," Toph explained. "You never learned anything."
"Maybe you can teach me?" Sokka said.
"Nope," Toph said. "I'd need at least a year to get you anywhere near presentable."
Sokka couldn't argue that point, since the party was tonight. "How about you get inside with Zei and open the door for me?"
"Do I have to be an accomplice to law breaking?" Zei asked.
"Nah, I got this," Toph said.
In the evening Toph and Zei arrived at the palace, after finding suitable clothing to wear. Zei wore a professional business suit fitting a professor, and intended to make a good impression with potential university donors. Toph made a stop at the market for dress robes, and pretended to be a distant niece of Professor Zei.
A line of guests waiting to be admitted was at the front doors to the palace, and guards were checking identities before letting people inside. "Invitations please," one guard asked when Zei and Toph reached the front of the line.
"Here," Zei said, handing the invitation.
The guard took a moment to examine the invitation, checking to be sure it really was the Dean's signature on it. "Welcome," the guard said, handing the invitation back to Zei.
Walking into the palace Zei and Toph followed earlier guests into the dining hall, where dozens of wealthy people mingled around long tables covered in nearly every kind of expensive food imaginable. At the head of one table was a brown bear wearing a green vest, eating anything and everything within reach of its paws. Toph stopped in her tracks when she noticed the bear, shocked that it was just a bear.
"This place is weird," Toph muttered.
Within minutes mingling with all the rich people reminded Toph of why she hated the life her parents tried to force on her. The men only cared about their wealth and taking more of it, and the women only cared about their appearance and wealth. All of them were completely detached from the reality everyone else in the city lived in, intentionally ignoring and worsening the problems of the poor simply to hoard more wealth for themselves. The sheer vanity sickened Toph, and she was glad that being born blind had prevented her from growing up to be just like them.
Fortunately for Toph she noticed that Sokka slipped inside the party disguised as a busboy. It seemed fitting, and Toph wanted one of the appetizers Sokka was carrying on a tray. She snuck up on Sokka and said "Another crab-puff please."
"There you are," Sokka whispered, holding out the tray for Toph to take a crab-puff. "Any sign of him?"
"Do you even know what he looks like?" Toph asked, then took a bite of her snack.
"I'm still working on that," Sokka admitted. He looked around, finding nothing that identified anyone as the Earth King. "He's got to show up at some point."
As if on cue doors in one corner of the room opened and a procession of palace guards emerged from it. Following them was a palanquin being carried into the room, with curtains slightly obscuring the view of the person inside. Every guest at that end of the room backed away, giving the guards plenty of room to protect the Earth King.
"I guess that's him," Toph muttered.
While the palanquin bearers moved the Earth King into the room Sokka and Toph moved through the crowd to reach him. Toph knew how to move through a crowd with ease, using her small size to slip through gaps between people and even in between their legs. Sokka, on the other hand, was shoving people out of his way.
The guards protecting the Earth King noticed Sokka, seeing him as a busboy that wasn't doing his job. One guard used a hand signal to alert several Dai Li agents that surveyed the crowd, telling them to intercept the busboy. They also spotted Toph reaching the front of the crowd, and alerted the Dai Li to apprehend her as well.
Dai Li agents swiftly moved in, bending stone gloves off their hands and sending them flying towards Sokka and Toph. In the air the rock gloves were invisible to Toph, and two pairs of them clamped down on her mouth and her arms. The agents summoned the gloves back, pulling Toph with them. Another pair of Dai Li grabbed Sokka with the rock gloves, pulling him out of the crowd. Professor Zei saw the Dai Li take Sokka and Toph, but knew that he was powerless to do anything about it.
Once the Dai Li had their captives out of the room they bound their hands together, forcing Sokka and Toph down a hallway and into Long Feng's study. Inside Sokka noticed several scorch marks scattered in the study, as if someone had carelessly tripped while carrying a pan of burning embers. Sitting in front of the fireplace was Long Feng, and with a hand motion he ordered the Dai Li to remove the bonds on the prisoners. Once the command was completed the agents stood by the door, waiting for another order.
"Now who might you two be?" Long Feng asked. He had been expecting the agents to intercept the Avatar at the party, not these two kids.
"We need to see the Earth King," Sokka demanded. "We have important information that could defeat the Fire Nation."
Not another one… Long Feng thought, getting sick of children thinking they knew better than someone that ran a city. "Take them to Lake Laogai," Long Feng ordered the agents at the door. "I have no time for this nonsense."
The Dai Li moved to apprehend Sokka and Toph again, about to launch their rock gloves. Knowing what to expect this time Toph bent the stone floor into a wall, embedding the rock gloves into it. Toph struck back by breaking the stone wall into large pieces and throwing them at the agents, striking several of them. The remaining agents spread out in the study, throwing more earth at Toph while other agents came in from the hallway.
Before she could be completely surrounded Toph bent the floor under Sokka, moving him into a corner of the study. A second later Toph backed into the same corner and started bending rock out of the walls as well as the floor. She earthbent a barrage of small stones at the Dai Li, pummeling the agents in front and pushing them back into their comrades. The agents threw more earth at Toph, but she blocked it all with rock from the floor and struck back with rock from the walls.
Still sitting in front of the fireplace Long Feng watched the fight. One by one the agents were struck down, and the bodies started piling up in his study. After the ninth agent hit the floor Long Feng had to admit that the little girl had talent for earthbending, talent that he could find use for. He held one hand up and said "Enough."
At once all of the Dai Li stopped the attack and backed off, pulling the fallen agents out of the study. Toph kept her guard up, just in case Long Feng changed his mind. "There's more where that came from!" Toph shouted.
"I'm counting on it," Long Feng said, standing up and taking a few steps to stand in front of Toph. He glanced at the wall behind Toph, observing that if any more earth had been removed it would have collapsed and brought the roof down. "It's seems there's more to you than meets the eye."
"What's it to you?" Toph asked.
Folding his arms around his chest, Long Feng grinned. "You've got a lot of power that could be put to good use, as a Dai Li agent."
After a moment of silence, Toph laughed. "Are you offering me a job?"
"I only take the best of earthbenders," Long Feng. "You're already better than the ones I have. Just imagine what you could do with proper training."
"I already am the greatest earthbender in the world," Toph bragged.
"Why settle for that?" Long Feng asked. "Not when you can become the greatest earthbender in history."
"That does sound tempting," Toph admitted.
Sokka couldn't believe that he was hearing this conversation. "Do I get a say in this interview?"
"Very well," Long Feng said. "What was it that you wanted to see the Earth King about?"
"There's a solar eclipse coming that will leave firebenders powerless," Sokka explained. "You could lead an invasion of the Fire Nation and end the war."
Long Feng wasn't convinced that Sokka's suggestion had any merit. "Do you have any idea how much planning and resources it would require to pull that off?"
"I never said this would be easy," Sokka said.
"Your ridiculous plan would require me to leave Ba Sing Se defenseless just to have the necessary manpower," Long Feng explained. "An invasion would never work with a window of opportunity only minutes long."
"You can't do nothing and let this opportunity slip through your grasp," Sokka argued.
"Oh I have no intention of doing nothing," Long Feng said, already thinking of ways to use the information to his advantage. "A smaller strike force, covertly smuggled into the Fire Nation, would be far more effective during a short time span."
"Ah, an assassination of the Fire Lord," Toph said.
"Exactly," Long Feng said. "Cutting off the head of their leadership will throw their forces into chaos. That is the time for an invasion, not during some celestial alignment."
"I suppose that works just as well," Sokka said.
"Then we are in agreement," Long Feng said. "I trust that you know the exact date of the eclipse?"
Sokka walked over to a table and wrote down the date of the eclipse, then handed it over to Long Feng. "Just slightly over two months from now," Sokka said.
"Do I still get the job?" Toph asked.
"Of course," Long Feng said. Then he looked at Sokka. "I suppose I could also use a new archivist."