Chapter 10: Sustenance
Any public well, spring, or any other source of potable water will now have restricted access immediately following sunset.
- Earth King Edict #16
Day 1 of the Siege of Ba Sing Se…
"Come on Lee, we have to get out of here." Jin frantically tugged at Lee's sleeve who refused to budge. His stubbornness was appearing at the worst time with the sea of red and black Fire Nation soldiers growing by the second.
Acting out of desperation, she slugged him hard enough to bruise on his upper arm. The reaction was instantaneous as he awoke from his stupor and rubbed at the spot.
"Ow! What was that for?" Lee asked as he turned to frown at her.
"Are you blind? We have to get off this wall now!" Jin groaned in frustration and dragged her palms down her face. "Let's just go back to the lookout place, find someone to send us down and then make a run for it. I'm sure they have bigger things to worry about than what two kids are doing up here."
She turned to move away but stopped when Lee did not follow. He reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out the wooden box. "I still have to make my delivery to Sergeant Yin-Len though."
Jin was back standing in front of him in a second and before he could even formulate the words to ask what she was doing, Jin kicked him in the shin.
He jumped backwards, rubbing at his tender leg now. "Will you stop hurting me?"
"Not until you stop coming up with terrible ideas." Jin crossed her arms over her chest and gave the meanest glare she could muster. "The delivery is over."
Lee stayed glued to his spot looking downward. "No, it can't be over." His words were so softly spoken Jin had to lean forward further just to hear them.
Sensing how upset he was, Jin reached out to rub his shoulder. "It's alright, there will be more deliveries."
The silence stretched on for an eternity before he slowly shook his head. "I have to do this; these guys won't take failure as an option. You take the lift down and I'll figure my own way out of this."
Jin blinked a few times, the sheer disbelief that she was feeling written plainly across her face. "Lee, the Fire Nation is here, and we are on the front lines. I'm sure that Diahu will understand."
"He won't!" His tone surprised both of them as his eyes widened in tune with hers. Without warning, he grabbed at her hand tightly. "I can't risk screwing this up. Not when I am so close to being able to help my dad. But you should go Jin, I don't want you to get hurt."
She slipped her fingers free from his grasp and stomped her foot down. "No way. If you aren't coming with me, then I'm not going. Let's go make this delivery before we both get killed."
The conversation ended in silent agreement and they both ran back to the lookout post. There was a flurry of activity there, like someone had just poured water over an anthill. Soldiers bumped into one another, weapons went flying from racks and curse words had replaced all other vocabulary. None of them even seemed to notice the two children in the building.
Tired of being ignored, Jin and Lee tugged at the waist band of a passing soldier. The soldier didn't even turn around as he tried to wrestle himself free and it wasn't until Jin stomped on his foot that he realized he hadn't been caught on an inanimate object.
"Hey, whose kids are these?" The soldier asked loudly to the rest of the room, but it was either ignored or went unheard.
"We're nobody's kids. My friend has to make a delivery to someone here." Jin explained, rather annoyed that the soldier was still looking every which way but at them.
"Do you know Sergeant Yin-Lem?" Lee jumped in for his turn at trying to capture the man's attention.
The mention of the name finally caught his attention as the soldier gazed down at Lee. "Yeah, that's me."
Lee produced the box and passed it over to him. "I was told to give this to you."
Panic filled the Yin-Len's eyes as he quickly stowed the box into his own coat. "They have kids doing this now?" Lee could only shrug in response and some sense finally returned to the man. "That's all of it, right? Let's get you kids back on the ground."
Jin and Lee nodded in unison and Yin-Len led them back out to the life. Jin cast one more look at the still approaching army before the lift began descending with a slight jerk that caused her heart to jump to her throat.
Once back firmly on solid ground, they managed to get through the encampment with no problem. The soldiers there were in just as much disarray as those at the top of the wall.
Both of them ran as fast as they could all the way back to the train station and boarded the empty car with their hearts racing. As the train began its long journey back, Jin was finally able to relax and even her breathing.
"Do you think that guy was acting weird?" She asked Lee the question that had been bothering her since they made the delivery.
Lee moved his hand back and forth. "Maybe, why?"
Jin bit her bottom lip before dropping it from her thoughts. "Never mind."
They stayed quiet for a while as the train bumped noisily over the uneven tracks. Jin could feel the sweat from the run pooling at the base of her spine and she wanted nothing more in that moment than to be home in the bath. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes to imagine the feeling of the relaxing water cleansing her from this long day.
"What do you think will happen?" Lee's question brought her back to the train as she sat back up.
Jin's face contorted in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Lee pointed back towards the Outer Wall. "With the Fire Nation. How long do you think their attack will last? Do you think they will break through the wall?"
Jin did not possess a single bit of knowledge as to the strategies of the war and she had done so purposefully. She found the war in general was so depressing that avoiding any thought towards it spared her from a constant state of depression. But she could tell Lee was nervous about what they'd seen so she just shrugged. "Probably not very long. No army can get through that wall."
Lee had lived a very sheltered life in the Upper Ring, there was no way he would know that in their lifetime there had already been three other attacks by the Fire Nation. She had only heard of them through the rumor mill and although those rumors never spoke to the size of the attacks, Jin was sure that this particular one would be just another footnote soon.
Day 10 of the Siege of Ba Sing Se…
Jin was working the front of her mother's shop after getting kicked off of kneading duty earlier. According to her mother, she was acting "afraid" of the dough and would never get anywhere without proper technique. Rather than have another argument over breadmaking, Jin chose to serve a self-banishment helping the customers.
It was a slow day that allowed Jin to begin a new sketch; she'd found inspiration yesterday in the form of a pair of cardinals flying outside her bedroom window. Just as she began the bell above the front door chimed and she looked up.
Her breath hitched in her throat when three Dai Li agents entered the shop. Two were wearing the typical conical hats, while the third kept his head exposed which was something Jin had never seen before. The two agents wearing hats stayed by the door while the unusual agent walked towards the counter, his teeth bared in a grin that was ill-fitting of a man belonging to the Dai Li.
"Hi." Jin drummed her fingers on the wooden counter as her eyes bounced between all three men. Her mother's chastising her over being kind to all customers rang in her head as she spoke again. "How can I help you?"
The agent closed the distance and Jin studied his face. He was handsome, hair tightly combed into a single braid that cascaded down his back out of Jin's view. The grin he was still giving her seemed genuine, although the scar that caused a small bald patch in his mustache told a story that Jin probably didn't want to know.
"Hello." His voice was impossibly deep, like he was speaking through a long horn. But it was pleasant and reminded Jin of her grandfather on her mom's side that always had a story to share. The memory relaxed Jin and she returned the smile. The agent looked around the store at the various loaves of bread, their scent wafting outwards to attract would be customers. "Is the owner around?"
Jin had once heard through a friend at school that the Dai Li could tell if you were lying just by looking at you. She had dismissed it as a simple scare tactic at the time, but as she talked to a member of the organization for the first time in her life, Jin could definitely see where they got the reputation. Regardless, she was not about to put the theory to the test. "Yes, my mama is the owner."
There was an unspoken request written across the man's face and Jin quickly went into the backroom to alert her mother. She had just retrieved a set of loaves out from the clay oven when Jin nearly ran into her, too busy looking towards the front of the shop still.
"Watch out, Jin." Tien chastised her daughter as she set down the hot bread. "You are supposed to be watching the front, what are you doing back here?"
Jin's voice was distant as her eyes stayed glued to the door leading to the storefront. "Sorry, Mama… there are men here…"
"And?" Her mother tapped her foot impatiently.
"They are Dai Li." She met her mother's eyes finally as she swallowed her breath.
"Oh…" Tien nervously brushed her hands on her apron before rubbing her daughter's shoulder. "I will deal with them, stay back here."
Her mother quickly disappeared behind the door and Jin tip toed after her, pressing her ear right against the wood.
"Good afternoon, Ma'am." The man who spoke with Jin jumped right into the conversation. "I assume you have read today's new Earth King's edicts?"
Jin rolled her eyes. Every day since that day Lee and Jin had seen the Fire Nation army outside the Outer Wall, the Dai Li had posted a new set of restrictions and rules on citizens under the guise of the Earth King wanting to "improve the lives and wellbeing of all his loyal subjects". As if no longer being able to use public wells after sunset was anywhere near at the top of the Earth King's concerns.
"No, I haven't managed to read them yet. My deepest apologies." Jin's mother responded with only the least bit of sarcasm hidden in her tone.
"New Earth King policy clearly dictates that all citizens should be informed on any new laws on a daily basis." The agent sounded exasperated as he gave the generic response he no doubt had already given to every other person he lectured to today. "Never mind that though, this new edict contains important information for bakeries such as yours."
Jin could only imagine the glare that her mother was fighting back. Her response sounded like it came through gritted teeth. "I am always happy to serve the Earth King."
"Excellent, starting tomorrow all bakeries will contribute half of their total loaves, pies, pastries, cakes, and any other various product you make to the Earth King's Military."
"Half!" Tien could only keep her calm for so long and the agent pushed her too far. "Prices on flour have already nearly doubled in the past week, how can I keep my shop open while giving half to the army? Why do they even need it?"
"Due to an unusually dry summer, the Agrarian Zone was unable to produce the necessary yield needed to maintain the Earth King's Military. If you have any concerns about the new policy, please submit the requisite forms to your district's Dai Li Information Center."
"Right… I'll get right on that."
The agents left in near silence, the only sign they were gone was the sound of the bell above the front door, although even that seemed to chime quieter than normal.
"Mama." Jin pushed the door to the store front open with a slight creek. "Is everything going to be alright with the shop?"
Tien blew out a deep breath as she shut her eyes before looking down at her daughter with a smile. "Of course, Jin. Now run home, you can have the rest of the day off."
Jin kept her head down as she walked out of the shop; her own confidence shaken after she could hear the fear break through her mother's façade.
AN: Sorry for the long delay between chapters, I started a new job and have been dealing with some real life stuff. But I really miss writing for this story and am hoping to get back to consistent updates. As you can see with this chapter, the siege is going to play a major factor going forward.