YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! I'm in Ba Sing Se! I don't care that this chapter is the longest yet *9,000 words* I get to write Eira in Ba Sing Se!
Thank you all so much for all of your support, I love you all so much! This even came out relatively quickly as well! :D
Anyway, I hope you like it and please, please, please tell me what you think. I want to know how I did writing this chapter.
Chapter 13: City of Secrets
They sailed quickly to the inner wall, flying alongside the train that took regular passengers across. Ying, Tahn and Hua looked happily at the wall and Hope giggled happily in her mother's arms.
"The Inner Wall!" Katara announced excitedly, pointing to it was it came into sight. "I can't believe we finally made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece.
Sokka waved his hands quickly, a worried expression on his face. "Hey, don't jinx it!" he cried. "We can still be attacked by some giant exploding Fire Nation spoon. Or find out the city's been submerged in an ocean full of killer shrimp!"
"What have you been eating?" Toph asked, annoyed but with an undertone of joking.
"I'm just sayin' weird stuff happens to us," he said simply.
"Well it's all pretty weird to me," Eira said. "You all at least find the animals normal."
Suki looked confused. "What do you mean, Eira? Even the sea serpent wasn't that strange compared to the Unagi."
Eira laughed. "No, sorry. I'm just not used to the fusion animals." Suki blinked, still not really getting it. "As in, where I came from, we didn't have cow-pigs or elephant-rats or anything like that. It was just pigs, cows, elephants, and rats."
"Where are you from again?"
Eira smiled. "Would you believe another world?" Suki frowned, sure that Eira was messing with her but she didn't press the subject further.
Aang looked with wide eyes at the city. "It looks so big." The city was amazingly big. Bigger than any cities Eira had seen. It stretched as far as she could see. Roads weaved throughout the city surrounded by buildings. Rings separated sections and each ring got progressively smaller. Eira couldn't make any of it out in much detail but she was sure that the inner rings looked a lot cleaner.
"But I'm sure we can tell the Earth King about the plan pretty quickly. I mean, he must be pretty easy to find," Katara said.
They followed the monorail into the walls and landed softly in the station. The people moving away to allow Appa to land.
Tahn helped Ying and Hope off Appa and they looked at them with expressions of gratitude.
"Thank you so much, Avatar Aang. Thank you so much for escorting us here," Ying said.
Aang smiled. "No problem. I hope you're happy here."
"We will. General Sung told us where to go," Tahn explained as they turned to leave. "He gave us passports so we'll be able to live happily here."
"Nice meeting you," Katara said, "Bye."
"Good-bye!" They waved the family off and as they went out of sight, Eira looked around the station. It was clean. Surprisingly clean seeing as so many people got on and off of the trains so regularly. The people looked friendly enough but then it dawned on them they didn't really know where they were supposed to go.
Toph sighed as she stroked Momo, who was resting in her arms. "Back in the city. Great," she complained.
"What's the problem? This is amazing!" Sokka said, gesturing in a grand fashion.
Suki nodded. "It does look very nice."
"It's just a bunch of walls and rules. You wait, you'll get sick of it in a couple of days," Toph assured him.
Eira didn't comment on anything. She was looking at the tracks as the monorail departed. A woman in fancy green robes was standing on the other side, her black hair waving in her face but she didn't react. Her ear-to-ear smile and dead eyes stared at Eira.
"Gah!" Eira jumped as she walked forward. Joo Dee. Eira's face went paler. There was no real reason to be scared of her. They didn't have Appa to blackmail them with, but that smile sent a shiver down her spine. An off smile was ten times creepier than anything else.
"Hello, my name is Joo Dee!" she said clearly. "I have been given the great honour of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se. And you must be Sokka, Katara, Eira and Toph, and…" Joo Dee trailed off as she saw Suki.
"Suki," Suki filled in, looking awkward. "I'm with them."
"Right." Joo Dee's smiled stretched further across her face. "Welcome to out wonderful city. Shall we get started?"
Sokka leapt at the chance. "Yes, we have information about an invasion plan that we need to deliver to the Earth King, immediately."
"Great! Let's begin out tour," she continued, making no suggestion that she heard Sokka. "Then I'll show you to your new home here. I think you will like it!"
"Sorry, Joo Dee, but didn't you hear Sokka?" Suki asked politely. "He said he had a plan about the war."
"Yeah, it's important," Sokka added urgently.
The little life in Joo Dee's eyes disappeared. "You're in Ba Sing Se now. Everyone is safe here." That was it. Too much creepiness for Eira.
"Well, I don't really need the tour," she said, trying to sound casual. "If you tell me where we're staying, I could take Appa over and…wait." Great job, Eira, she thought, berating herself. Become an actor, you'd do great.
Katara gave her a strange look. "Eira, we're guests here. Even if you do know Ba Sing Se, we might as well take the tour."
"And Appa?" Eira asked stubbornly.
"Your bison will be taken care of and escorted over to your home. It will be fine." She was so creepy. Eira had already stopped Appa from being kidnapped, she wasn't about to let him be "escorted" by the Dai Li or anyone else who worked in Ba Sing Se.
"That sounds fine, right Appa?" Aang petted Appa's muzzle and he growled benignly. "Yep, Appa says it's fine."
"Then we can start the tour?" Suki said. Joo Dee nodded and Eira was practically forced into the carriage with all the others. It felt bigger than what was in the show. That made sense as there were more of them, but still.
The carriage was made of polished painted wood with golden details and plush seats. Ostrich horses pulled it along and Joo Dee was happy to begin talking about the city. Everyone else looked slightly confused about her dismissal of their questions but they looked excited to see the city. Toph and Eira were the exception, Toph because she'd "seen" it before and Eira because she was stressing about Appa's condition.
Her fear was partially irrational as she knew that they really couldn't get away with stealing Appa in front of them or without them noticing but no one was to be trusted in Ba Sing Se. Unlike the others she knew what went on.
"This is the Lower Ring," Joo Dee explained, gesturing to the walls and the area they were in. It was dark and dirty and reeked of poverty and over-population.
"What's that wall for?" Katara asked.
"Segregation," Eira said without emotion. Katara shot her a look, "Rude!"
"The walls on the outside of the city are there to protect us," Joo Dee said, ignoring Eira's comment. "The one's inside help maintain order. The lower ring is where our newer arrivals live, as well as our craftsmen and artisans, people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively!" she added.
Everyone looked out of the carriage to see two men standing in an alley, sharpening a large sword and glaring at them. They all looked understandably unnerved. Momo retreated quickly to Aang's lap. "You do have to watch your step, though."
"Why have all of these poor people blocked off into one part of the city?" Suki asked.
"As I said, segregation," Eira repeated, crossing her arms. "The walls are there to block of the poorer people so they can't mingle with the higher classes and to stop people from moving up by putting them in a hopeless environment. The higher classes typically wouldn't want people like that ruining their view." The carriage fell into an awkward silence.
Eira got a dark feeling of happiness from watching Joo Dee looking panicked and trying to lift the mood again.
"As I was saying, we have many different types of shops and crafts around this area…"
Joo Dee continued the tour and Eira tried to ignore the weird looks she was getting from everyone. To be honest, she was surprising herself with her negativity. She never really thought about how she would react to being in Ba Sing Se but she hadn't expected this reaction from herself. Ba Sing Se just felt…wrong. Especially because she knew about what was going on with brainwashing and the Dai Li.
Eira felt a stab of guilt as she remembered the brainwashing. It wasn't Joo Dee's fault.
The carriage bumped around as it rolled across the roads. Eira noticed people giving the carriage quite shady or bitter looks and she understood even more why when they reached the middle ring. The contrast was scary. Suddenly everything was brighter and less cluttered. The people looked happier, conversing with smiles on their faces and when Eira looked out of the window, a little girl waved and pointed at her.
Eira smiled and waved back, somewhat awkwardly but turned back to Joo Dee as she began the next stage of their tour.
"This is the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se, home the the financial district, shops, and restaurants, and the university."
"Is it an open university?" Eira asked. "Can people walk in and visit it, or not?"
"The university is open to all knowledge-seekers. However, the actual lectures and lessons require becoming a student. The requirements are-"
"We actually met a professor from the Ba Sing Se University," Sokka mentioned, looking bored and glaring at Joo Dee. "He took us to an ancient underground library where we discovered information about the war that is absolutely crucial for the Earth King to hear!"
Joo Dee stared straight ahead. "Isn't history fascinating? Look ," she gestured to a large building. "here's one of the oldest towns in the Middle Ring, Town Hall"
The carriage stopped and she got out swiftly. Everyone else got out as well to look around but Sokka stared at Joo Dee's back, an annoyed expression on his face.
"Is that woman deaf? She only seems to hear every other word I say," he complained.
"I'm sure she's just going along with her tour. You'll be able to tell her about the plan after it's over," Suki reassured him. Toph scoffed.
"What's happening is called "being handled". Get used to it." Everyone exchanged worried glances. The Middle Ring was quite interesting. They were escorted through Town Hall with Joo Dee telling them facts and ignoring their questions unless they were directly associated with the subject at hand.
It was becoming increasingly frustrating to go along with everything and Eira and Sokka couldn't help trying to catch her out or explain the real reason for certain things but Joo Dee just carried on with her selective deafness.
They were walked back to the carriage and continued to the Upper Ring. Despite everything, Eira couldn't help but gasp. It was the richest place she'd ever been in and got an irrational urge to get out of the carriage and walk around, examining everything. The architecture was gorgeous and everyone looked so content.
Little ponds and pockets of flowers were dotted around the ring and it looked just incredible. It smelled floral and, if she had the choice, she'd probably choose to live in a place similar to it. She quickly shook her head out of that fantasy. Reminding herself she would hate to live in Ba Sing Se and even if she did, she wouldn't ever be able to stay there and/or afford it.
"The Upper Ring is home to our most important citizens. Your house is not too far from here!" Joo Dee said excitedly and there was a collective sigh of relief that the tour would be over soon.
They passed a tall section of the wall with a large gate. Behind the gate, they saw glimpses of a enormous building that seemed to outshine even the other buildings.
"What's inside that wall?" Katara asked, trying to get a better look. They all looked closer and Eira jumped back as she saw three men wearing dark robes with long sleeves and typical wide brimmed helmets/hats. Eira still couldn't see the point in them. The men turned their gazes towards them and Eira shivered at the somewhat hateful gaze they shot at them.
"And who're the mean-looking guys in robes?" Sokka added.
Joo Dee smiled wider at the chance to explain. "Inside is the Royal Palace. Those men are agents of the Dai Li, the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. They are the guardians of all our traditions!"
"Then why do they look so shadowy?" Eira shot at her. "It doesn't really see necessary to have them look like that. Or be trained. Or even exist? Why do you need to protect your culture if you're going to just lock people inside walls and not even tell anyone about the War that been going on for a hundred years!"
Joo Dee shrank back and Eira felt guilty. Eira sat back and tried to compose herself. "Sorry," she mumbled, looking away.
More silence.
"When can we see the Earth King?" Aang asked. Joo Dee laughed softly, as if Aang amused her.
"Oh, one doesn't just pop in on the Earth King," she said in the same tone she'd been using the entire journey.
The carriage slowed into a stop in front of a smaller house and Joo Dee smiled wider.
"Here we are!" she announced. "Your new home." Everyone rushed out of the carriage, thankful that it was over. Eira looked quickly around the house and visibly relaxed as she saw Appa in the grassy area next to the house.
"More good news!" Joo Dee announced. "Your request for an audience with the Earth King is being processed, and should be put through in about a month." Everyone stared at her in horror. "Much more quickly than usual!"
"A month?" Sokka exclaimed.
"And by "being put through" does that mean we'll see him in a month or that when out request is actually noticed," Eira asked.
"After the request is put through in six-to-eight weeks, the Earth King will invite you to see him in the palace." She walked past them and into the house. "Follow me and I'll show you around your new home."
Reluctantly, they did and unlike when she first saw the Upper Ring, Eira did not admire the building and instead glared at Joo Dee. Six-to-eight weeks! That was a heck of a long time to have to wait and Eira would be driven crazy if she had to stay in such an oppressive environment for such so long.
"Isn't it nice?" Joo Dee said. "I think you'll really enjoy it here."
"I think we'd enjoy it more if we weren't staying for so long," Sokka said. "Can't we see the Earth King any sooner?"
"The Earth King is very busy running the finest city in the world! But he will see you as soon as time permits."
"But what about the rest of his kingdom?!" Eira asked, raising her voice. "He's not doing a thing to help out with the rest of the Earth Kingdom as its being invaded and taken over by the Fire Nation!"
"The Earth King's Generals are in charge of other cities and related issues," Joo Dee explained.
"What can we even do if we're here for a month?" Aang asked.
"There are many exciting places in Ba Sing Se you can visit for entertainment. I would be happy to escort you anywhere you'd like to go."
"We don't need a babysitter," Toph said, annoyed.
"And there's nowhere we need to go," Eira added.
"Well, actually," Suki spoke up. "I think I need to leave."
"What?!" Sokka and Eira exclaimed in unison.
Suki looked a bit taken back. "I came along to help you out with the invasion plan. I wanted to get involved." She looked Sokka in the eyes. "But, I can't wait here for a month when I need to be with my Kyoshi Warriors. I need to go back to them."
Sokka looked lost for words. "Oh… Well, have a good journey," he eventually stammered out. Suki hugged him.
"Goodbye," she said before turning to the rest of them. "I'll see you guys later then."
"Be safe," Eira said.
Suki smiled and she was escorted out with Joo Dee, leaving them all alone.
Sokka fell back on a cushy sofa and Toph echoed him by doing the same to one across the room. Aang, Katara and Eira began looking around the house curiously. Eira peaked into a couple of rooms and apparently there were four bedrooms, or so Eira guessed. They were a more Asian design with a blanket type of thing on the floor so she guessed that's where they were meant to sleep.
It was one of the surprisingly rare moments where the differences between modern western culture and ancient Asian culture caught her out in what she didn't know. Mainly she just relied on her knowledge of the Avatar world to work things out.
Near the bedrooms was the bathroom. It looked fairly normal so she passed it quite quickly. There was a lounge, a tiny reading/work area of sorts and a dining room and kitchen.
The kitchen was already fully stocked and the dining room was quite similar to the one the Bei Fong's had, but a lot smaller.
After examining the house they quickly found that they didn't have much to do. Eira remembered that they didn't have the search for Appa as an excuse to explore Ba Sing Se.
Eira sat down in the lounge along with Sokka and Toph and stared out of one of the windows.
"So, what now?" Toph asked, bored.
"We could explore the university, or some of the shops," Sokka suggested.
"Would that creepy lady be following us, though?" Aang asked.
"She's taking Suki to the port so we should have time," Katara said, looking worried.
"So, we have time," Eira concluded, clapping her hands and getting up. "We might as well get the most of Ba Sing Se whilst she's gone."
"I agree with Fairy Feet," Toph said. "That woman creeps me out. We should try and get stuff done before she comes back."
"I think that's a little unfair," Katara said. "She's just doing her job."
"Yeah, and her job involves stalling us," Eira added. "She won't help us visit the King quickly."
"How do you know that?"
Eira crossed her arms. "Did you even see how she ignored all of Sokka's questions? We're not even doing anything wrong, we're just leaving and looking around without her."
"It would be nice to look around. Maybe I could find something for Appa," Aang said cheerfully. Katara didn't look entirely on board with the idea, but in the end they managed to wander around the Upper and Lower rings.
"It's such a well-designed city," Eira commented as they were walking through the Upper Ring.
"The walls themselves are weird though," Toph said. EIra looked at her strangely. "They're all at least a bit hollow," Toph explained. "Passages and stuff."
"Sounds cool," Sokka said casually. The shops had a very large variety, from markets, to pet shops, to clothes shops and even gallerys.
They went to the pet shop so Aang could buy something for Appa. Eira was enthralled with all of the strange animals and caught herself staring at the cat owls. It had beautiful brown and white fur and feathers, an adorable cat face and owl wings. Sooooo cute!
Momo forcibly took her out of this spell as he landed on the food bowl the cat owl was eating out of, startling it and causing all of the animals to screech.
"Momo!" Eira chastised, picking him up and away from the cat owl.
"Guys, do you think Appa would like this?" Aang asked as he pointed at a feeding bag. It was too small for something as big as Appa but it was a nice idea.
"I'm sure he would love being able to eat as we go, but that might be a bit too small," Eira said.
"Maybe he could use it as a snack or something," Sokka suggested, distracted by some of the other birds.
"Yeah, maybe."
"You shouldn't have gone off without informing me," a woman's voice spoke up and everyone jumped, seeing that Joo Dee was standing before them in the shop. How did they not notice her?
"When did you come in?!" Sokka exclaimed in shock.
"We didn't need to tell you," Toph shot at her grumpily.
"I would've been happy to show you around the city in more detail if you would've liked," she said.
The shop keeper looked a lot more uneasy now Joo Dee was in his shop and the dead-eyed smile she was giving everyone was worse than before.
"We're sort of just wondering," Aang said.
"Oh, it would be no trouble. Where would you like to go next?" Joo Dee asked.
"…The university?" Eira suggested awkwardly. "We thought we might find out more about the Fire Nation."
Joo Dee's smile grew colder. "The university is a lovely place to learn more about cultures and geography," she said politely.
o.O.o
"Hmm… I've never seen any sandbenders or nomads around here," the Universtiy student said. "You should ask Professor Zei, he teaches the class on desert cultures."
"But Professor Zei isn't here right?" Eira noted. "We met him at a Spirit Library and he stayed there just before it collapsed."
The student looked a little flustered. "I-I wasn't aware Professor Zei was still on a-a trip."
"Right, so which of the professors could we ask about the war with the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked, annoyed.
"Uh," the student looked over at Joo Dee and Eira looked out of the corner of her eye to see her shaking her head slowly, her expression remaining the same.
"I-I don't know. I'm not a political science student…" he said, stuttering. "I've got to get to class!" he added quickly, standing up and rushing away from them but he tripped, dropping his papers. Scrambling, he picked them up and hurried away.
Joo Dee waved at him, still smiling. Toph looked resigned and annoyed.
"We're not gonna be able to do anything else," she grumbled. "Let's just go back."
"Great idea!" Joo Dee said enthusiastically. The walk back felt ten times longer. The sky felt darker and the colours looked duller. They didn't talk, all conversations, usually started by Katara, ended with a short statement about the weather or what they saw today.
They approached the steps of their house and Joo Dee waved them off, getting into a carriage.
"I'm glad you took the time to look around our lovely city. Someone will be over with dinner, later."
"Thanks," Eira muttered. The carriage drove off and they were all about to turn in, bored and tired, but Sokka stopped.
"What is it, Sokka?" Eira asked, yawing.
"Come with me," he said quietly, walking across the street to another house. Everyone followed him but no one quite knew why. SOkka knocked on the door and an older man appeared in the door, smiling at them.
"You're the Avatar!" he said in a hushed but excited voice. "I heard you were in town. I'm Pong."
Aang smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. "Nice to meet you, Pong."
"So, Pong," Sokka said, cutting to the chase. "What's goin' on with this city? Why is everyone here so scared to talk about the war?"
Pong shifted his eyes around, checking everything around him. He kept his smile but his pupils shrank in fear. "War? Scared? What do you mean?
"I can feel you shaking," Toph said blankly, slightly annoyed.
"We can see it to," Eira added. "Look, I know you're scared but you have to tell them, us, what you know."
"I'm just a minor government official," he explained, looking to the side to make sure no one was around. "I've waited three years to get this house. I don't want to get into trouble."
"Get in trouble with who?" Katara asked.
"The Dai Li, right?" EIra whispered. Pong looked absolutely terrified.
"Listen, you can't mention the war here. Stay away from them, for all of our sakes. Don't do anything and you'll be fine." He quickly shut the door and Eira felt everyone look at her.
"We shouldn't talk here," she said before anyone else could ask her anything. She looked around, like Pong had. "They can see."
Everyone walked briskly back to the house and as soon as the door closed, Sokka started on her.
"How do you know this stuff?!" he asked loudly. "What do you mean the Dai Li could hear us, or that we should stay away from them?"
"Aren't they just the cultural authority like Joo Dee said?" Katara said.
"No, they're… kind of hard to explain. From what I remember, they were started by Avatar Kyoshi-"
"So they're good, right? Like the Kyoshi warriors," Aang said.
"Not quite. The man in charge of them, I don't remember his name, uses them to take control of Ba Sing Se. They're very well trained and are used to stop dissenting opinions from getting out."
"So that's why Pong was so afraid of them," Katara said. "This is awful. Why doesn't the king know about this, or do anything to stop it?"
"The Earth King is a figurehead. He had no power over anything at the moment," EIra explained. "If we're going to get the plan to someone, however, we need to get it to him."
"Sokka was right," Toph said. "How do you know this stuff?"
Eira ran her hands through her hair nervously. "I know I can't lie to you, but you just need to trust that I can't tell you either."
"We've bought that you're from another world and that spirits gave you airbending," Sokka said. "How crazy could your reason be?"
"I know that you guys believe that but you really wouldn't understand," Eira insisted. "All that matters is that we know the Dai Li are dangerous and we need to see the king. It's not important how or why I know it, right?"
None of them looked reassured. They were all somewhere between suspicious, worried and concerned and Eira was feeling awful. She couldn't explain it. There was no way she could. But she couldn't even tell them why she couldn't. They didn't even know what a TV show was.
Eira walked off, her head hurting and she napped in one of the rooms. It was surprisingly warm and cosy but everything about it felt wrong. Her mind was buzzing with paranoia about the Dai Li and she just wanted to forget it all. She just didn't know how she was going to continue trying to fix things and help out without alienating herself from her friends more than she already had.
o.O.o
"I got it!" Katara announced cheerfully, rushing into the lounge, carrying a roll of paper in her hand. Toph was sitting lazily on a chair, Aang and Sokka were playing a rock-paper-scissors type game and Eira was reading while hanging off another chair. They'd been having a lazy morning, unsure of what to do as they couldn't go out into Ba Sing se without Joo Dee stalking them and they didn't have any room to train. "I know how we're going to see the Earth King!"
"How are we supposed to do that?" Toph asked, finishing eating a type of nut from a bowl next to her. "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King!" she added in a mocking imitation of Joo Dee.
"The king is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear," Katara explained. Sokka, Toph and Aang gave her confused looked.
"You mean… platypus bear?" Aang asked.
"No," Katara said, re-examining the paper. "It just says "bear"."
"Surely you mean skunk bear," Sokka said.
"Or armadillo bear," Toph suggested.
"Gopher bear?"
Katara looked weirdly at the paper. "Just…bear."
There was a pregnant pause.
"This place is weird," Toph said simply and at that comment Eira burst out laughing. "What's the matter with you?"
"Hah! Sorry, it's just so… strange to hear this conversation," she said, still laughing. It just felt so ridiculous. "Just bears are so common and to hear you all be so confused at hearing about it is just so funny to me. If it was me, I'd be more weirded out by a skunk bear, or armadillo bear, or platypus bear."
"Then you're weird."
"Yeah, I know."
Katara looked back at the scroll and her excitement came rolling back as she focused on what she came in for.
"Anyway, the palace will be packed. We can just sneak in with the crowd!" she explained.
"Won't work," Toph said, lying back further on her chair.
"Why not?" Katara asked, slightly confused.
"Well, no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd will spot you a mile away. You've got no manners." Toph took some more from the bowl beside her and ate, as if letting her point sink in.
"Well, she's right on one point," Eira admitted. "They would be able to spot me a mile away." Eira gestured to her paler hair. "I don't exactly blend into a crowd full of dark hair."
Katara frowned. She probably hadn't considered that factor.
"Also, Toph's right about the people. This is a very classist area. Anyone who isn't from the Upper Ring would be spotted very quickly."
"But it couldn't be that hard to fit in," Katara said, still pushing for her plan. "We could just learn and…" Katara looked at Eira. "you could just, maybe, hide your hair…or something."
"Brilliant plan!" Eira said sarcastically. She looked at Sokka and Aang. "Those two probably wouldn't be able to pick up on the manners to let you fit in, but I think you and Toph would be able to blend in."
"Come on!" Aang said, slightly indignant. "I'm mastering all of the elements. How hard could manners be?"
He grabbed a nearby curtain, pulling it around himself like a make-shift noble's robe and he scrunched up his expressions in what Eira guessed he thought to be haughty.
"Good evening, Mr. Sokka Water Tribe," he said in a "sophisticated" voice, bowing to Sokka, then Katara. "Ms. Katara Water Tribe." He then bowed to Momo, who had been playing underneath the carpet. "Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty. Your Momo-ness."
Momo chittered as the carpet rolled of his head and he mimicked Aang's bow, somewhat.
Sokka smiled and copied Aang, taking another nearby curtain and wrapping it around himself. His face relaxed and drooped in his imitation of upper class.
"Avatar Aang, how do you do? Go on," he said.
Aang bowed to Sokka and Sokka bowed even deeper in retaliation, trying to outdo him. They continued to bow even further until they lost sync and slammed their heads into each other and fell down, rubbing their heads.
"I… see Eira's point," Katara admitted.
"They'd be lucky to pass as busboys," Toph agreed.
"But I feel so fancy!" Sokka complained, his forehead still bright red.
"So, that's the plan then," Eira said, getting up and smiling. "Katara and Toph infiltrate the party as Upper Ring citizens and Aang and Sokka sneak in as busboys. It's perfect."
"You're still missing what you're gonna do," Toph said. Eira's face fell. She wasn't going to fit in anywhere really, but she wanted to join in the plan. It wouldn't feel right her just staying there.
"Well, uhh…"
"Maybe you could dye your hair," Katara suggested.
Eira's hands self-consciously went to her hair. "I don't really… I don't think that would…" she stammered.
"It wouldn't be permanent. Gran-Gran taught me how to make a dye that just washes out of fur. We used it on cubs in the Southern Water Tribe so we could keep track of them," she explained. Her clear blue eyes were lit up with excitement.
"That would work," Aang said, also smiling.
"Great, great," Toph said, waving her hand. "So we have a plan now. Yay."
o.O.o
They'd gone shopping for the makeup and clothes needed for their disguises and despite the reason they were doing it, Katara looked incredibly excited to go through all of the finery. Toph didn't really have much input on the actual designs and such (being blind and all) but she did know a surprising amount about what types of dresses and makeup they would need.
All Eira really could comment on were the aesthetics of things and whether or not they fitted when Katara asked for a second opinion.
On the bright side, lots of women and men were doing the same thing they were, shopping for the King's party. They ran into quite a few people bragging about how they got their tickets to the shop workers. Eira felt so sorry for them, having to keep an interested face on for the entire story but at least they were probably getting a lot of money from it.
They had bought dresses, makeup and weird head ornaments by just past midday and all that was left was getting ready.
Aang and Sokka were amusing themselves in the lounge, playing with Momo, so they didn't mind the girls taking the bathroom and the bedrooms.
Katara showed Eira how easily the dye washed out and Eira felt a lot better about it. Despite how it wasn't very practical, she didn't feel very comfortable with the idea of changing it permanently unless she really wanted to. With Katara's waterbending and Eira's airbending it was much faster than normal and Eira couldn't help but gasp when she looked in the mirror.
She looked so strange with darker hair. In all honesty, she hadn't looked at herself much since she arrived in that world and even though she hadn't changed much, she still felt… different.
The dress Eira had bought was multi-layered and it looked pretty complicated to put on. There was a kind of base dress which was plain and white with short sleeves, then there was another layer but it was a light green, then finally a wrap-around patterned dress that was fastened at the side.
It was a slightly more lime-y green than Katara's with dark green and white patterns on it. There was a low slit at the sides and the most surprising thing about it was that it was actually quite comfortable. It wasn't T-shirt comfortable but the fabric was nice.
Katara and Toph's dresses looed lovely as well. Toph's was creamy coloured with gold and yellow patterns around the sleeves, hem and neck and Katara's was more like a pale green with wide sleeves and a high collar.
"These look amazing!" Katara commented, looking down at her dress. Toph looked grumpy.
"Yeah, nothing beats itchy suffocating dresses," she grumbled.
"They're not that bad, Toph," Katara insisted.
"Speak for yourself. They're all the same to me."
"We haven't even got to the head ornaments yet," Eira said, making a mocking face at them before laughing. "I'm so glad these aren't a regular thing everywhere. They look so pointless."
"They may be a bit pointless but they aren't awful." Katara looked at the headdresses with an intrigued look. "It's interesting though, isn't it?" she asked. "Imagine what it would be like to have things like this every day."
"Not all it's cracked up to be," Toph said firmly.
"Yeah, I know," Katara said, slightly sad.
The makeup was a bit awkward. It was a lot of makeup. Blush, lipstick, mascara, everything. At least it didn't look awful. The headdresses were difficult to wear but after some testing they finally understood how to use them.
"Wow, you guys look great," Eira said. Katara and Toph did look very beautiful.
"You do as well, Eira," Katara assured her, smiling.
"You both look the same to me," Toph commented and they laughed.
"I'm sure we do, Toph."
Katara looked out of the window to see that it was dusk. "I think the party will be starting soon."
"Good thing we're ready then," Eira said. "Time to go, then."
They opened the door into the lounge, holding fans and they all looked calmly at Aang and Sokka, before giggling because of how shocked they looked.
"Wow, you look beautiful," Aang said, stunned. Sokka flicked Aang in the forehead and Katara opened her mouth to reply before Toph flicking her fan in front of her mouth.
"Don't talk to the commoners, Katara. First rule of society," she explained.
"You look so…different, Eira. I almost didn't recognise you," Aang said. Eira smiled gratefully.
"Thanks, that's the idea." The girls turned to leave. "We'll get into the party. We'll try and find a way to let you in but because security will be quite high, I'd try and sneak in with the busboys. They'll have less guards around them."
A loud gong rang throughout the Upper Ring and the girls quickly left, the gong probably announcing the start of the King's party.
The line went on quite a bit from the gate. People were chatting and bragging to each other in the crowd as they approached it. The night was surprisingly cool and that was good seeing how warm their dresses were.
Despite everything, they all looked slightly nervous. Katara was constantly looking around at different people and even Toph looked a bit uncomfortable in the crowd.
"You need to stop walking so lightly," she whispered.
"Why?" Eira asked, surprised. That was a bit of an odd comment.
"You keep disappearing and the crowd isn't exactly helping."
"Oh, sorry."
The crowd moved forward slowly. The noise began to blur together into white noise as they approached the guard at the gate.
The guard admitted several more rich-looking people before turning to them.
"Invitation please." He held out his hand for tickets.
Toph stepped forward confidently. "I think this will do." She held out her passport with the official seal of the Beifong family to the guard.
"No entry without an invitation," he said stubbornly. "Step out of line, please."
Toph frowned irritably, putting her hands in her sleeves. "Look, the Pangs and the Yum Soon Hans are waiting in there for us!" she lied. "I'm going to have to tell them who didn't let me in."
The guard wasn't having it. "Step out of line please," he ordered, unyieldingly. He pointed to his side and they moved out disappointingly.
So much for that, Eira thought, looking back at the crowded line moving into the palace. Eira looked back at Katara and she felt the blood rush out of her face as she followed Katara's gaze to a tall-ish man with a long plait and dark robes who was being bowed to by two Dai Li agents.
Katara headed over to him determinedly and Eira had no choice but to follow her.
"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but by cousin lost our invitations," she said convincingly. "She's blind," she added in an undertone. Katara straightened up and looked pleadingly at the head of the Dai Li. "Do you think you could help us? Our family's inside and I'm sure they're very worried."
He smiled and bowed his head. "I would be honoured, please come with me."
He walked towards the guard at the entrance and Katara, Toph and Eira followed him. The guard at first looked reluctant but when he noticed the man he bowed and allowed them into the palace.
Eira tried to remain polite but Katara and Toph stuck their tongues out at him and she covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing.
It was no doubts that that hall belonged to the king. It was absolutely gigantic. The ceiling went up several stories and everything seemed to glow with a golden light. Everything was polished and intricate and the amount of people in there was astronomical!
Eira's eyes widened as she looked around the place. It was just so rich!
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the man said, noting their impressed expressions. "My name is Long Feng," he introduced. "I'm a cultural minister to the king."
Oh, Long Feng. That's his name, Eira thought. Not remembering his name was really annoying her considering how the Ba Sing Se arc was one of her favourite parts of the show.
"I'm Ying," Eira said, thinking of a random name she could use.
"And I'm Kwa Mai," Katara said. "and this is… Dum." Toph tugged on a string hanging from Katara's headdress and Katara winced in pain.
"Ow!"
"Now, where is your family?" Long Feng asked. "I'd love to meet them."
Eira pretended to look around for them. "I can't see them right now. We promised to meet up at this time but they could be a little late. I'm sure we'll find them soon." Eria smiled. "Thank you for all your help. I'm sure they would appreciate it."
Eira turned them away swiftly and began to walk off but stopped as Long Feng appeared in front of them. How the hell did he do that?
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "as your escort it would be dishonourable to abandon you ladies without finding your family first. We'll keep looking."
Eira shot a worried look at Katara and Toph. She did not want to be around Long Feng for long. She kept on feeling that if she was around him any longer, she would say something wrong and get arrested or something. She didn't have a very good track record of not annoying people with power to the point of trying to kill her.
They lead Long Feng around, trying to lose him and Eira was looking intently for Sokka and Aang. They had to have snuck in already.
There were dozens of faceless busboys holding trays of assorted foods and as Eira's dull blue eyes scanned them, she was getting more and more tired. Another one, and another, and one with a tail coming out of their hat, and another-wait!
She focused on the tail and smiled. It was Aang and Momo. He was carrying a jug of water or something and Eira lightly tapped Katara and Toph, pointing in their direction.
Without making any sound, they walked over to Aang and Sokka.
"Another crab puff, please," Toph said in a fancy voice. Sokka absently, lowered his tray towards her, not noticing it was them but Aang's eyes widened and he smiled.
"You found us!"
"Try not to sound so surprised," Eira said, smirking. "Do you not trust us?"
"By the way," Sokka said." Thanks for letting us in."
Eira frowned. "Hey, I said that it would be hard. The guy who let us in won't let us out of his sight and…"
"Wait, what guy?" Sokka asked, confused.
Eira looked around nervously. "He's the head of the Dai Li. He's the man I was talking about."
Everyone looked at her in shock.
"You mean… him?!" Katara whispered, shocked.
Eira nodded. "That's why we should find the king as soon as possible. He should be arriving soon."
"What are you doing here?!" Everyone turned around to see Joo Dee looking at them, looking anxious. "You have to leave immediately or we will be in terrible trouble!" Joo Dee tried to push them away but Sokka blocked her with his tray.
"Not until we see the king," he said adamantly.
Joo Dee's face strained. "You don't understand. You must go." She gave a big shove and Sokka fell on Aang, causing the jug of water he was holding to spill onto a nearby woman.
She shrieked as the water ruined her makeup, hair, and dress. Her face was streaked and she looked mortified.
"Wait, no, sorry!" Eira quickly apologised. "Please don't shout." Eira attempted to send a small wave of air at her, drying her but Aang had a similar idea. They both shot a gust of air at the woman and despite it drying the water off her she looked like she had been standing in front of an industrial fan. Her hair and dress stuck out behind her like she was hanging upside down.
Eira tried to shrink back into the crowd but unfortunately for him, Aang was the centre of attention. His busboy uniform had been blown off, revealing his airbender clothes and tattoos. He smiled sheepishly and Eira cringed in embarrassment.
The woman looked briefly shocked, but she then smiled in amazement. "The Avatar! I didn't know the Avatar would be here," she said airily.
All of the attention was now laser focussed on Aang and for the first time, Joo Dee's smiled fell, replaced by a look of complete and utter dread.
Aang blushed and waved at the crowd, laughing nervously.
Sokka leaned next to him and whispered something to him. Aang nodded and yelled to the crowd, "Watch this, everybody!" as he jumped on the long dining table, waterbending the drinks on the table into a swirling multi-coloured orb above everyone.
The crowd cheered and clapped as he performed for them and as he distracted everyone, Eira walked briskly through the crowd to find Sokka.
"Sokka!" she hissed. "Sokka!" He turned around to face her.
"What? I'm trying to find the king!"
"When he arrives, you'll know," she explained. "He's the Earth King, of course he'll have a grand entrance. He won't be just mingling in the crowd."
Sokka looked around sheepishly. "Yeah, I didn't think of that."
"I know."
They both tried to blend in with the crowd, Eira pretending to take food from him as he was a busboy until the King finally made his entrance.
The crowd was filled with a buzzing anticipation as two lines of guards walked into the hall grandly. Eight of the men were carrying a curtained palanquin or something. You could just make out the shadow of the Earth King through the curtains and the crowd was marvelling at his presence.
Eira nudged Sokka with her elbow, though it was unnecessary as he could clearly see it.
"Aang!" Sokka called out, getting Aang's attention. "The Earth King!" Sokka pointed to the palanquin. Aang smiled as he stopped entertaining Basco with his waterbending. He span an air scooter and shot down the long table.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" he said loudly. The guests whisked away their food and drinks to make room for Aang to travel down but as the guards saw him, the Earth King was quickly taken away.
Sokka and Eira frowned, looking worried at each other before Eira felt two pairs of hands grab her arms.
"Hey, let me go!" Sokka yelled as he was also grabbed by two Dai Li guards.
Eira jumped in shock and airbent the guards holding her away, sending them flying but two hands made of earth shot out and covered her mouth and arms, pulling her away from the crowd.
Eira fought against them but they were two strong. Eira was "escorted" out of the main hall along with Sokka, Katara and Toph and they were all led down a dark corridor to an empty office.
It was filled with green light from the fire in the hearth but despite that the dark stone walls and floor felt cold. Eira almost laughed at how obviously evil the office was. They even went out of the way to have green fire. It was just incredible.
The earth hands fell away from her mouth and arms and flew back to the Dai li agents by the door. Surprisingly, Eira didn't feel frightened or anything like that, she only felt angry. No one said anything, but Katara and Sokka looked worried. Toph and Eira shared feelings of anger and frustration.
Long Feng entered the room along with Aang and Aang's eyes narrowed as he saw them there. He walked over to stand by them and scanned the room. Long Feng stood in front of the fire and the emerald light sent shadows over his face.
"Why won't you let us talk to the king?" Sokka demanded. "We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!"
Long Feng looked calm as he stood in front of them. Eira was constantly wishing that his stupid plait would just catch on fire.
"The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day to day minutia of military activities," he said clearly.
Eira laughed humourlessly. "Yeah, because it's certainly not a King's job to get involved with politics. Please, forgive us for our misunderstanding," she said mockingly.
Long Feng scowled. "What's most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military."
"Yeah, we know that," Eira said, continuing her unimpressed tone. "The king is just a figurehead and you hold all of the power. He's your puppet, you use the Dai Li to keep the citizens in line and you refuse to let anyone know about the war so you can maintain your pretty little bubble of peace."
"But," Sokka started. "If you're in charge of the military, you could organise the invasion. The solar eclipse will leave the Fire Nation defenceless. You-"
"Enough!" Long Feng swiped his hand at them, shutting Sokka up. "I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan. It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war will throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic."
"But most of them already know!" Eira countered. "All of the refugees in the Lower Ring, the students, the politicians, they all know. You're not doing a very good job at keeping it a secret. Just because everyone's too afraid to talk about it doesn't change that fact!"
"And by having that, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia," Long Feng said. "The last one on Earth."
Aang, Toph, Katara and Sokka stared at Long Feng with a mix of shock and horror.
"You can't keep the truth from all these people," Katara protested. "They have to know!"
Aang stepped forward, pointing a finger at Long Feng. "I'll tell them! I'll make sure everyone knows!"
"And you can't get rid of Aang unlike all the others," Eira added. "He's the Avatar and I'm pretty sure people would notice if he went missing in your precious Ba Sing Se."
Long Feng stood straighter, casting a wide shadow over the office. "That may be true. The Avatar may be untouchable, but not his friends." Aang stepped back in horror. Long Feng smiled cruelly. "I have good reason to believe that if one of your friends disappeared, there would be no one who would notice."
Eira's eyes widened. A shot of fear struck her. Only Toph, Aang, Sokka and Katara actually knew her here. No one else would care.
"Up until now, you've been treated as our honoured guest," Long Feng looked Aang right in the eyes. "But from now on, you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents. If you mention the war to anyone, you will be expelled from the city and, Avatar Aang, your friends may not be accompanying you. It would be a shame if they could not help you continue your quest." Long Feng walked over to a chair and sat down. He gestured to the opened door. A woman in a familiar dress was standing next to it. "Now, Joo Dee will show you to your home."
Everyone turned to face the woman and Eira felt cold.
"Come with me, please," the woman said in the familiar creepy monotone and stretched smile but she was clearly not Joo Dee. Her hair only came up to her jawline and her face was rounder.
"Wh-What happened to Joo Dee?" Eira asked, horrified.
"I'm Joo Dee." The woman bowed her head. "I'll be your host as long as you're in our wonderful city."
Now how long with Eira last before getting arrested? :)
Thanks for reading this and tell me how you think I did and tell me what you think will happen next! :D