Ch.4 4 Weddings
Katara paced nervously in the room she'd been dragged to. She kept hoping that this was going to be some horrible nightmare that she'd wake from. There was a wedding dress in the closet, but Katara refused to put it on. The guards had not been gentle when they brought her here. They shoved her in the room and locked the door. They also had the foresight to take her water pouch beforehand. With no water to bend, she was stuck. She cluched her mother's necklace as she heard a knock at the door.
"It's time," an older woman beckoned kindly. With no further delay, she entered the room. Katara noted the four armed guards with her. "Why are you not in your wedding dress?" the lady asked. Katara recoiled in fear. "I'm not getting married to anyone but Aang," she said angrily. The guards laughed. "The Avatar is not here. He left some time ago," she said. She pulled the dress out of the closet. It was a nice enough garment. It had shades of dark and light blue, indicating the wearer was from the Water Tribe. Katara gulped. "You can either put it on, or the guards will put it on for you." The lady's tone suddenly became strict.
"Let me out of here!" Toph screamed. Her voice was raw. She'd been in this room for several hours. She tore the wedding dress that they intended her to wear to pieces. She needed to take her anger out on something. The presence of a wood floor and wooden walls prevented her from bending her way out. Her mind kept flashing back to Aang's words in the grand hall. "Please, Toph. I don't want to strip you of your bending." She had hoped that they'd put her in a metal room, but apparently the council knew of her ability to bend metal.
She stood her ground as the guards entered. One glanced at the tattered remains of Toph's wedding dress on the bed. "That is unfortunate," he said. As his companions moved to subdue Toph, said, "We'll get another dress." Toph's heartbeat quickened. This was not happening. A scream rang out as the guards drug her out of the room. They made sure to keep her hands restrained as they dragged her down the stone steps. As they reached the bottom, Toph saw two women with a replacement wedding dress. It was as ornate as the previous one, but it would have to do.
They took her to another wooden room. The guards stripped her of her outer clothing, as Toph voiced her anger. "Get your hands off of me! I'm gonna have your heads!" One moved to strike her, but was restrained. "We cannot mar the bride's face before the wedding," she said. Toph knew better than to be grateful. A look in the woman's eyes told her that if they weren't trying to prepare her for her wedding, no mercy would have been shown. "You'll never get away with this!" Toph yelled as the women slipped the dress over her head.
Suki had reluctantly put the Earth Kingdom Green wedding dress on. She loved Sokka, nothing would ever change that. But she would do anything to avoid ever going back to Boiling Rock. She barely fought the tears as the guards entered her room. One snickered. "So this is a Kyoshi Warrior," he said with a laugh. If not for the council's threat, Suki would have removed the smile from this man's face. As they moved to escort her, one word came to mind. "Sokka!" she screamed as they forced her from the room.
Ty Lee couldn't believe it. She stood before a mirror. The dress was extravagant. It looked like something Fire Nation royalty would wear. A phoenix was embroidered in gold thread on the upper part of the dress, and there were embroidered flames on the skirt. If the current situation were different, Ty Lee wouldn't mind wearing it. She took a deep breath, as if she were steeling herself for what was to come.
When the guards came to get her, she didn't put up a fight. She merely shook her head in sadness. "Aang will protect us," she said as they led her away. One of the guards laughed at this. "The Avatar isn't even here, little girl. There's no one to save you." The girl's normal cheerfulness was all but gone. She refused to believe that Aang would abandon them.
The girls were reunited before another grand hall. Katara couldn't believe it. She looked at her friends. Toph's hair was disheveled from her struggling. Suki couldn't make eye contact with her. She stared at the floor. "It'll be alright," Katara said comfortingly. Toph exhaled sharply. "Sure it will, Sugar Queen. We're about to be married against our will, and apparently Aang's long gone."
Ty Lee put a hand on Toph's shoulder. "He's not gonna let this happen," she said slowly. Toph scoffed. "Yeah, we're talking about the same one who threatened to take my bending away," she said angrily. It was unfair, she knew, to blame this on Aang. And there was no doubt in Toph's mind that he was punishing himself more than she ever could. He'd barely been able to speak those words. But at this point, Aang was more reachable than the council.
"It's time, ladies." The doors opened, and the girls were awed by the scale of the room in front of them. The guards forced them forward. As they got closer to the altar, Katara began to recognize some of the grooms. "No way," she said. It was a mercifully short ceremony. Surprisingly, the priest skipped the part where the girls said "I do." As they were separated by their grooms, Katara clutched her necklace. "Aang, where are you?" she asked.