Hi everyone! New chappie! Thanks for the review Moon-san! Silent readers, make some noise! If you've some questions, I'll answer them. And if you think I should change something or that I should work on something, feel free of telling me. Thanks for reading.


Chapter 6:

The next day, Ishi and Jeong-Jeong were very tense. They sat around the Pai Sho table where they had spent their evening.

It was the queen who played the first set. The white lotus tile in the middle of the table. Jeong-Jeong was disoriented. But he played.

Hours passed and the game wasn't finished yet. Ishi was a great master at Pai Sho. He hit hard on the game, as if he wanted to avenge for the humiliation of the day before. Her face was full of stress. But he didn't show any emotion, while she showed frustration. And for the moment he had the advantage. He was the king of the situation.

They were hungry, but neither one decided to leave the table. If only one of them stood up, it would mean that he or her abandoned.

The night was falling. The two players became really exhausted and the game was winding down. It was Ishi who played at last. She placed the white dragon tile...and won. The young man looked at the board and breathed hard. He had lost! The city would think that they were safe...In fact, he felt like he really had lost the battle. In both situations, he always lost.

Fury and the feeling of injustice welled up into him and with a gesture full of fire and a scream, he wiped the tiles from the table.

He had lost...He had lost and he couldn't accept that.

Jeong-Jeong breathed hard again. He saw all the inhabitants were scared. As was Ishi. With horror, he realized how rude he had been. He bowed to the queen and walked quickly away, Zhao on his heels.

"Where are you going, Sir?"

"Somewhere where you will leave me alone."

"But sir..."

The young colonel shoot a fire ball at his feet.

"You stay out of this! Go to your room, or somewhere else, but leave me alone. I need to think."

As he ran away, Zhao stayed behind, surprised by the sudden anger of his chief.


He found a granite dragon like he had at his childhood home. He sat between the paws, his arms around his knees. And he stared.

"I know you would come here."

It was the queen of Bao Yu. She came from behind the statue. He turned his eyes away.

"You know everything."

"No...I don't understand. I thought you would be happy to see Bao Yu safe."

"Because you think that the Fire Nation will hold their word?" he asked sarcastic.

"Yes. Why not?"

"Well, you're dead wrong!"

He looked her right in the eyes. She saw flames in his eyes and made a step backwards. She was scared. For the first time in her life she was really scared. She looked like a little child, shivering and with lips that trembled.

Jeong-Jeong look became softer. He wasn't angry anymore. He was ashamed of his country future actions against the city. He turned his head from her and sighed.

"My nation will wait until you let your guard go down and then they will attack. And there will be no mercy for the inhabitants of Bao Yu. And you...You will be imprisoned and sent to the Fire Nation most secure prison which is in the middle of the ocean, because you're an earth bender."

"But, what do you care about?"

"You wouldn't understand. You played me, from the beginning. Everything was a whole big, but clever lie."

"Not everything..."

She approached him and gave him a kiss on his lips. The young man clasped his arms around her. When their lips separated, the young women blushed. Jeong-Jeong caressed her cheek. But she released herself from his arms.

"You have to leave the city tomorrow morning. Tell your superiors that you lost the game. Don't worry for us, we will be fine."

And she ran away.

"Wait!"

But she disappeared in the shadows of the night.

"I love you..." whispered the young man.


The next morning, Jeong-Jeong and Zhao left the city. Ishi wasn't there to say good bye. A minister said that she had taken to bed. The colonel nodded.

"Please, inform your Queen that I enjoyed Bao Yu and that I'm very thankful for her warm welcome."

He insisted on 'warm'.

"I will transmit the message."

And the two soldiers walked out of Bao Yu.

One week later, the city of the jade mines was in the hands of the Fire Nation.


Quote of the day:

Earth King: The Earth Kingdom…has fallen.