A soft breeze blew in through an open window, stirring a strand of hair across her
face. Hair that was left cascading down from her bun and instead pinned together at the
base of her neck blew around the side of her body, enveloping her arm and the gosh
forsaken ruffles at the bottom left side of her knee length dress. Her wedding dress. Oh
Spirits.
For the first time in over a year, she'd been left alone to do things for herself. After
being pestered with constant questions of 'What do you think of this?' and 'What do you
think of that?' and 'Isn't that just gorgeous?' about just about everything imaginable, she'd
eventually snapped and just let Katara run the rest of the operation; as if she'd even
wanted to plan something like this in the first place. Lets just say legance... wasn't really
her thing.
Toph's fingers absentmindedly fingered the swirling embroidery running along the
right side of her dress, fanning from a point at the bottom and flaring upward to her hip.
To her surprise, she actually didn't mind the dress. It was silk and, and slightly tighter at
the torso, where it overlapped and tied in a traditional Earth Kingdom dress robe style, but
the bottom split at the corner clean up to her opposite hip in a point. The other half of the
bottom had ruffles spilling out over her leg to her knee, matching up to the bottom tip of
the sturdier material, but allowing for easier movement. Lose cap sleeves just over her
shoulders left free motion for her arms as well.
Katara had gone with her back to the dress shop, along with, much to her own
dismay, her mother. Although, the torture of that occasion was made bearable by the
reaction of the saleswoman upon her entry. The same obnoxious woman from the day
she nearly tore apart the store in battle before being abducted,she nearly fainted at the
mere sight of her return. The confusion of Poppy at this fear also gave her some
satisfaction. Toph also noted that the shop no longer had a harpist.
Much to her surprise, Katara had found a pair of dance slippers made up of a
material so thin it was nearly invisible to her feet. Both her and Poppy opted for her to
wear them with the dress. Though she was still able to clearly feel vibrations while
wearing them, Toph didn't like the feel of having the wispy fabric rubbing against her feet
and decided on something simpler.
The thin anklet tinkled softly as she stood to close the window. She put her hands
on the frame and stood for a second, inhaling a breath of cool air from outside. It was
finally the day.
In all of her life, she'd never expected this day to come. When she was younger,
she didn't exactly get out to see much, thanks to her parents, and was never all that big
on fairy tales either. If the thought of future marriage ever crossed her mind, it was a
simple wonder of what kind of man her father would end up betrothing her to once she
came of age. Such a person ended up being the heir to a business in Makapu, whom
was drier than dry and had little more than money on his mind, not too unlike her father.
Sheltered as she was growing up, she always knew businessmen were never exactly
her type.
Even though her parents seemed to have a decent relationship (judging by what
she would rarely witness of them), the idea of an inevitable arranged marriage spending
the remainder of her days in boredom with a stranger of her parent's choosing never
seemed appealing. And if it weren't for Teo, she just might have ended up in one.
As she got older and left to experience freedom, the thought of tying herself down
to anyone still never crossed her mind. After her childhood locked up, she made a vow to
herself never to be tied anywhere again.
This idea was further embedded into her brain after her imprisonment in the
estate basement not too long ago. The only reason the long duress was bearable was
having Teo's companionship; he miraculously kept her grounded, not only preventing her
murder of Lao but even managing to help solve the problem at the root. The week drove
her nearly to insanity, leaving little in her mind but fury towards her father, her captor, for
what he'd done.
Though she highly doubted it , would it be possible to feel the same hatred
towards a man keeping her in a home? Not captive by definition, but without the freewill to
move and change location and scenery. A life in one home with one person whom you
could not just leave; a family, a husband. Teo.
Could she really grow to hate Teo over time? Toph's stomach grew queasy, and
she gripped the windowsill tighter, fighting a sudden urge to vomit. She took another
breath of fresh air, leaning her head and shoulders out of the window to let the breeze
cool her face and send her hair fluttering about once again. She could feel the sun
warming her right cheek, and turned her head to face it.
Outside it was so calm and peaceful, the city outskirts being quiet with nature.
The only sounds she could hear were the rustling of the leaves of a few nearby trees, and
a faint, quiet murmuring from around the other side of the building where people were
arriving.
Her stomach began to stir once again. She wasn't sure how long it was before
the ceremony, but she knew it would be soon.
After she left home, and after the war, there had been one constant in her
concious life, and even in her lapse. Her best friend as everyone else in the gaang grew
up and had less time to just hang out and be kids in the city. Her partner in crime on
numerous occasions, potentially related to the previous. The only person who cared
enough and missed her enough to notice when she was gone. The person who flew
halfway around the Nation to not only recognize her as Sadako while knowing nothing
about her past, but shake her out of a brainwashed state and rescue her, bringing her
back to his own home when she had nowhere else to stay. Stayed with her as friends
and teammates left entirely, their own lives taking root. Stayed with her through
kidnapping, keeping her sane through her weakness. Doing whatever it took to make her
happy a
simple job in itself, but still. Could she really grow to hate him?
There was a soft knock on the door. "Toph," Katara muttered, "it's time." She
had one hand on the doorknob, about to turn it.
No, there was no way, Toph thought. That would never happen. Inhaling one last
time, she shut the window with a thud, and turned towards the door. "I'll be out in a
second." Her fingers trailed the cool glass of the pane as she make her way across the
room. Katara had leaned against the wall on the other side of the door, waiting. With a
gulp, Toph reached for the knob. Oh boy.
She exited the dressing room to meet a grinning Maid of Honor. "Are you ready?"
Katara asked.
Toph smiled weakly. "Well, I guess so." She fondled the thin chain ropes looping
along half of her hip, hooking her thumb around one as they made their way down the hall
to the chamber that the ceremony was to be held in.
"You look pretty," Katara offered, giggling.
"Thanks...I'm sure you do, too," Toph joked, lightly tapping her shoulder with her fist.
Since Katara had pretty much planned the whole wedding, she'd gotten to pick out her
own dresses for the bridesmaids as well; with approval of the basic descriptions by
Toph, of course. She was attired in long traditional Earth Kingdom dress robes, the tie
sash scattered with a few decorative jewels to signify her as the maid of honor, and she
had a lily tucked into her hair. Two bouquets were held in her hands. The larger or
which, she handed to Toph as they reached a large double door.
In front of the door, the wedding party had already gathered in two lines.
Bridesmaids Hau, Ty Lee, and a Kyoshi Warrior named whom Toph had befriended,
stood to the left, and groomsmen ordered at the right- Jukari,
The Duke, Aang. Most of her friends were in front of her. The thought calmed her slightly. They were all here as
reinforcements. Everyone... except Teo. Katara squeezed Toph's hand and took her
place beside Haru, Teo's best man.
Inside the chamber, a pair of ushers opened the heavy doors, and the soft music
inside drifted out. The room was mostly quiet, with just the music, the clinking of a large
chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and the chatter of a small crowd, much smaller than
that at her friends' wedding, for which she was thankful.
An organ joined the tune inside of the chamber, and Toph clutched the stems of
her bouquet tightly. Two by two, her backup silently left her, drifting in pairs to the front of
the long room. Even though it would be a pointless effort, she half wished that the
miniature silk veil attached to her headband was long enough for her to extend over her
face and hide. Toph chuckled; who was she, a child? Toughen up!
Lastly, Katara and Haru exited the entryway and walked up to the front of the hall,
and she was left along. she felt them take their places as the organist changed the
melody. It was time.
Toph stepped forward, now in the doorway, and the audience rose to their feet.
Left foot. She noticed Teo up front, looking around. Her nerves calmed. Right foot. She
was now totally in the chamber.
She felt someone take her arm, and she turned to face her father.
Lao gave her a gentle smile. "You look beautiful," he whispered. She smiled.
"Thanks, dad."
Left foot, together. Right foot, together. In harmony with the organ's tune. Left,
together, right. Slowly, oh so slowly, they glided down the aisle.
The last year had been exhausting. After butting heads in argument after
argument, Lao had finally given up on her being a little society princess. Today was
about the closest it was ever going to get. Whether or not he was beginning to accept
the real her, he'd at least pulled his head out of his ass long enough to accept who she
was not and was never going to be. After that was out of the way, she was accepted
back into the family, regardless of how little she visited.
That amount had increased slightly in the last six months, however. Now that her
parents finally grew up, their relationship with their only daughter had begun to mend.
Toph preferred not to think that this was due to fear of losing their only heir. It was a slow
process, but nonetheless. She now met up with her mother once a month in the city, and
her father would consult her with stocks on Earth Rumble merchandising.
She was halfway up the aisle. A quiet chuckle escaped her lips as she passed
her friends from Earthrumble. The Hippo tried to hide that he'd been wiping his eyes, but
to no avail. She found it hilarious, especially from the brute five times her size.
Toph still took on her alter ego of The Blind Bandit whenever there was a
tournament around, but when the games were in another area of the Earth Kingdom, she
stayed back home. Every once and awhile, the boys would come by to hang out. When
they weren't opponents, surprisingly they viewed her more as a younger sister, much to
her annoyance. However, she did find their meeting Teo an amusing scene. The
Boulder had been especially adamant at threatening the poor boy, who was scared for
his life while she tried to contain her laughter before eventually coming to his rescue.
She let out a smile as she passed Iroh, who sat contently with _ , his new female
companion. The woman was about his age, had a large mole on her chin and was
downright rude, but the two made each other happy, so she let it slide. She used to be a
vendor for a ferry, but apparently had met Iroh a while back, and ran into him one day
while stopping for tea in the city.
Toph took a deep breath. She was almost to the alter.
Towards the front, she heard a whimper, and tried to discern whether it came
from the tiny infant or its equally mature father who, just as the child, tried burying his
face into his wife's shoulder. Toph shook her head. She wouldn't trust the imbecile with
a child, but knowing the way the couple acted, she was surprised that it hadn't happened
years ago already.
As she passed the front pews, she stopped momentarily as instructed. Her father kissed
her cheek before leaving her side to join Poppy in her seat. The music quieted but continued
until she made her last steps up to the altar beside a grinning Teo. She handed her bouquet to
Katara as the music stopped, and turned back to face Teo, who took her hands in his.
The preacher cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentleman, we gather you here today..."
Toph tuned out as Teo signaled for her to bend down slightly so he could whisper in her ear.
"Are you sure you still want to do this?" he asked.
Her thoughts returned to her earlier hesitations, and she grew a little nervous. She
pursed her lips before leaning down to speak as her thoughts cleared. She smiled into his ear.
"What's fun without a little risk?"