Chapter 18: The Queen and the Princess
We rode for hours through the forest; I rode in the centre, three Dai Lee rode in front of me, three behind me, and one on either side of me. Eventually we left the forest and rode towards a mountain range. Once in the range we rode along a dirt road until we came to a dead end. I slowed down so that five of the Dai Lee were now in front of me and prepared myself in case this was a trap. The three Dai Lee furthest in front of me then dismounted and used their Earthbending to open up a hidden tunnel through the mountain. They then remounted their Komodo Rhinos and entered the tunnel. I followed them into the tunnel. After only a short trek everything suddenly went dark and I realised that the three Dai Lee behind me had closed the entrance. I quickly used my Firebending to examine my surrounding but all I saw was a long tunnel and the eight Dai Lee. If this is a trap it's already too late to escape.
With no other option I continued to ride through the tunnel, using my Firebending to look for another exit. Fortunately we were only in the tunnel for a short time before the Dai Lee created an exit. We then rode out of the tunnel, up a narrow path, and into a cave. Once inside we were greeted by several people in Earth Kingdom clothes. The three Dai Lee leading us then dismounted from their Komodo Rhinos and started talking to the people in the cave. The rest of the Dai Lee then dismounted, while the cave people lead the Komodo Rhinos away. I then dismounted and headed towards the nearest Dai Lee agent.
"Who are those people," I asked pointing to the people in Earth Kingdom clothes.
"They're the smugglers we're working with," he replied.
"Is this where the Queen is?"
"No, she's lives in a nearby Orphanage."
"Then why are we here!"
"We can't go into an Earth Kingdom area dressed like Fire Nation soldiers and riding Komodo Rhinos, we'll be attacked. We need to change into Earth Kingdom clothes."
Ty Lee had mentioned that there had been attacks on Earth Kingdom areas in the southern part of the Colonies, so if we appeared in Fire Nation clothes they may think we were about to attack their Queen. A disguise would make meeting the Queen much easier.
"How long will it take for them to get some Earth Kingdom clothes in my size?"
"Not long, they should have some clothes in your size here."
If they have Earth Kingdom clothes in my size here then either this is a base where they store a lot of disguises, or they knew where I was and this is all part of some elaborate plan. I had to find out which it was.
"Where are we and what is this place?"
"This is one of our bases in the Kuro Ko mountains. The smugglers look after our disguises, supplies, and animals; and we let them use it as a base to store their goods."
"Why are they storing their goods here rather in a warehouse?"
"Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom soldiers often claim that these good have been stolen or smuggled in, and confiscate them. So the artisans who make them want them stored somewhere safe."
"So the smugglers have connections to the artisans who make these good?"
"That's correct. Some of the artisans are smugglers themselves."
If the smugglers are working with artisans then their trade could be quite lucrative and if they're storing goods and disguises here then it's possible that they would have clothes in my size even if they didn't know I was coming. As they're also storing animals here and I'm in no condition to trek across a mountain range, they should be able to provide me with a replacement for my Komodo Rhino.
"How are we going to travel to the orphanage without the Komodo Rhinos?"
"They look after our Ostrich Horse here, along with our Komodo Rhinos, so we can ride them to the Orphanage."
Good, it would be too tiring to walk a long distance. Now that I knew enough about this base, I need to find out more information about the Queen of Smugglers.
"What sort person is the Queen of Smugglers?"
"I haven't met her but I hear she's very kind."
Most likely a façade to make people trust her, since it's impossible to control people by any means other than fear. Fortunately there are subtle ways to find out what she's really like.
"How has she punished insolent smugglers?"
"I don't think she's ever punished any of the smugglers. The captains are usually the ones who punish their crews for insolence."
"Then how does she punish captains who fail her?"
"I don't think she ever punished any of them."
If she doesn't punish anyone then either she's been experiencing constant success, has someone else punish those who fail her, or she's a puppet and someone else is secretly controlling the ... wait, what's the name of this gang?
"What is this smuggling gang called?
"I don't think they have a name."
Even the most basic gangs have names, so why don't they have one.
"Is there anyone other than the Queen who the smugglers fear or who has a great amount of influence?"
"I don't think so; the Queen is the main authority figure?"
"What does the Queen do?"
"She calls meeting with the various captains to discuss smuggling."
"How does the Queen inform the smugglers about her plans?"
"I haven't heard of her ever making any plans. Normally the Captains discuss with each other what they're planning to do."
Something is very wrong with this smuggling gang; they don't have a name, and their leader is neither feared nor does she act like a leader. Since this Dai Lee agent doesn't know what the Queen is really like there's no point trying to get any more information out of him. I need to ask the Queen herself how she runs her gang.
As I couldn't get any more information out of this Dai Lee agent I decided to plan what questions I'd ask the Queen when I met her. After a few minutes another Dai Lee agent approached me with a bunch of Earth Kingdom clothes and showed me to a room where I could change into them. I made him carry the clothes until I was sure that the room didn't contain an assassin (I didn't want to enter a room with both my hand full). I then dismissed him, carried out further checks on the room and the clothes, then tried on all the clothes to see which ones fitted me. After trying on several combinations of the clothes I found a set that felt comfortable and were warm. As I was now done changing I exited the room, and told the Dai Lee agent outside that I had selected the clothes I wanted and he could put the rest away (sorting clothes is a task for servants, not royalty). Though I made sure that he kept my armour separate.
As I exited the room four people in Earth Kingdom clothing approached me. When I questioned them they told me they were all Dai Lee and would be escorting me to the Queen. As I had no further business here I followed them out of the cave where there were several person in Earth Kingdom clothes looking after five Ostrich Horses. The Dai Lee then showed me to my Ostrich Horse, which I mounted, then mounted their own Ostrich Horses and set off back down the track we took to get to this cave.
We rode to a different mountain this time and again the Dai Lee opened a tunnel through it. After a long ride through the tunnel we exited into a field and continued to travel in the same direction we'd travelled through the mountain. After about ten minutes I was able to make out a set of buildings in the distance. I asked a Dai Lee agent what they were and he replied that this was the orphanage and that the Queen lived in the house behind the orphanage. Though I could see the orphanage it still took another twenty minutes to finally get to it. When we arrived the Dai Lee and I tied our Ostrich Horses to a nearby hitching post and walked to the house. When we got to the front door one of the Dai Lee knocked on it and said 'Special Delivery from the tailor' (obviously a codeword). I heard someone inside come towards the door, unlock it, and open it. From the light inside the house I could see that the person living there was my mother!
I stood there paralysed, just staring at my mother. Why was she here, hadn't father killed her years ago? Endless questions flooded my mind as I tried to make sense of what was happening. Then I realised why mother was here, this was a trap. The Avatar and Zuko must have either found my mother or someone who looks like her, to act as a decoy while the Earthbender pretending to be Dai Lee capture me. I was a fool to trust them and believe their lies. No, now's not the time to blame myself, I need to escape before I'm captured. However escaping won't be easy, there are four of them and I don't have enough time to generate any lighting. My only chance of escape is to incapacitate them with my Firebending and escape on my Ostrich Horse before the Avatar or Zuko can attack me.
I took a step backwards and shoot two fireballs into the Earthbenders in front of me. I then quickly moved my arms backwards and shot the two at my side. They all fell down groaning but unfortunately they were still alive (had I not become so weak I could have taken them out instantly). Even though I wasn't able to kill them I had injured them, this would give me some time to escape. I turned to my right and started running back towards the Ostrich Horses, however several stone walls suddenly sprang up and blocked my way. I can't escape and I'm in no shape to fight, so I'll have to bluff my way out. As long as the Kyoshis haven't told them how weak I've become they won't attack me without Zuko or the Avatar to protect them.
"Princess, why did you attack us?" one of the Earthbenders asked.
I turned round to face them and moved into an attack stance to look as intimidating as possible. One of the Earthbenders was clutching his side, but the other three seemed to only be lightly injured. Mother was standing behind them, looking worried.
"Did you think you could trick me? Where's the Avatar hiding?"
"I don't understand what you mean. We haven't tricked you, we brought you to the Queen of Smugglers as you requested."
Playing dumb won't work.
"Do you expect me to believe that my mother just happened to be here."
"Your mother? Your mother is the Queen of Smugglers!?"
The Earthbenders then turned to look at my mother.
"It's true," my mother admitted (it was definitely her, I recognised her voice).
The Earthbenders now looked confused, it seems they hadn't been told who she was. I could use this to my advantage.
"What's wrong didn't the Avatar tell you who she was? Seems like there's a lot of things he didn't tell you, such as how strong I really am. If you value your lives you'll leave now."
"But Princess we're you servants, we're not working for the Avatar. We're only loyal to you." one of the Earthbenders said.
Time to turn that statement against them.
"Then prove your loyalty by leaving me alone with my mother."
"But Princess …"
"That's an order."
"As you command."
Now they had to leave or they show that they weren't really loyal to me. Defeated the Earthbenders lowered the wall and headed towards the Ostrich Horses. They then mounted them and rode away, leaving my Ostrich Horse alone. Now the danger of an Earthbender attack was gone I could focus on preparing myself for an attack by the Avatar. I turned to my mother.
"Let's go inside mother."
Mother then looked at me, then headed back inside the house. I followed her as quickly as I could. As long as I could use mother as a hostage the Avatar wouldn't attack and if we were inside the Avatar wouldn't know how close I was to mother. However being alone with mother posed its own dangers. She'd killed my grandfather to protect Zuko and it I wasn't careful she could do the same to me.
Notes:
1) 'Kuro Ko' is Japanese for Black Dust. The mountains are called 'Black Dust' because they're based on the Tora Bora Mountains, used as an al-Qaeda base (Tora Bora is Pashto for Black Dust).
2) A 'hitching post' is the bar on two wooden poles that Cowboys tie their horse to.