"Lee. Get up."

Lu Ten opened his eyes and saw Ayehsi standing over him. She tossed his crutch down and he grunted as the air escaped his lungs. "What do you want?" Today was supposed to be their day off.

"I figured I'd show you around Ba Sing Se a little. As a treat, for putting up with my mom this whole time." Miyo spent most of her days throwing around insults about the Fire Nation, most of which Lu Ten dutifully ignored. "She is grateful that your tea has increased foot traffic to the shop. She just, you know, has a hard time expressing it. Because you're a fire bender and stuff."

Lu Ten nodded. "You're really letting me see your city?"

"Look, you're getting around well on crutches these days and if you'd wanted to kill me you would've done it already. I trust you. Let me know when you're ready and we can explore."

Lu Ten scrambled to get ready, quickly donning his clothes and hurrying up the stairs, pausing only to grab his crutch. His leg was healing, but it wasn't back to normal yet. Ayeshi smiled at him as he came up, then took his arm and led him out into the streets of Ba Sing Se. It was the first time he'd really been away from Ayeshi's home, and his first real look at the city.

"This is Ba Sing Se?" Lu Ten gazed, wide-eyed, as they walked past street vendors and run-down class="Apple-converted-space" /spanThe streets were muddy, laundry hung in alleyways, and rough-looking men leered at them from dark doorways. "We were told Ba Sing Se was the jewel of the earth kingdom, but this is . . . well, underwhelming at best."

"This is the lower ring." Said Ayeshi. "The upper ring is cleaner. Richer."

"What's the lower ring's problem then?"

Ayeshi turned, her dark eyes snapping. "There's a lot of refugees in the lower ring, ok? People who lost everything when the fire nation came. People are poor here."

Lu Ten shifted uncomfortably and took another look at the streets. A mother in a tattered dress bent over to wipe the dirt from a child's face.

"We didn't always live in Ba Sing Se." Ayeshi continued. "We had a farm in a village where I could see the sky, where there were trees and grass. The fire nation burned it down when I was ten and we had to move to Ba Sing Se. My father had to join the army. My mother started our noodle shop to make ends meet. This city is walls and rules and bureaucracy. It's suffocating."

They continued in silence. Lu Ten wasn't sure where Ayeshi was leading him, but she walked with a firm determination in her eye. He watched her, but only looked straight ahead. He wanted to tell her how the fire nation royal family had been suffocating too, but he knew it wouldn't be well-received. He'd always had anything he ever wanted.

Two men in green uniforms peered at them from a dark alleyway. Lu Ten shuddered as they passed. He'd been around enough to know that uniformed men patrolling alleys were never a good sign. "Those are Dai Li agents." Ayeshi whispered. "They're the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. If you make too much noise about the war, they'll take you away."

"They don't want you talking about the war?"

"No. 'There is no war in Ba Sing Se.' They crack down a lot harder in the upper ring, though, since the people there have power and influence. Most people in the lower ring know there's a war going on."

"They seem . . . slimy. Like they operate covertly. The Fire Nation is slimy like that too."

"Doesn't surprise me." Ayeshi nudged Lu Ten to the right, toward a set of train tracks. "Ba Sing Se's huge. People get around by taking trains a lot of the time. This one will take us to the outer wall." She passed a few coins over to the ticket agent and helped Lu Ten onto the train.

Lu Ten had never ridden a train. At home they had tanks and the hulking fire navy ships, but no trains. He leaned against the window in amazement, watching the earth fly by beneath them. It was beautiful, so green and full of life. There weren't even any signs of the siege.

"The Dai Li cleans up quickly." Ayeshi muttered in an undertone. "They keep the image that Ba Sing Se is impenetrable. This is where you and your army were a few weeks ago, but you'd never know looking at it now." They both sat back in silence as the sun-soaked earth slipped by below.

Presently the train glided to a stop at the outer wall and the passengers began to disembark. "This is the edge of the city." Said Ayeshi. "I used to come here sometimes, before the siege happened. I don't leave the city, of course, but you can see the sky up here. The view's incredible." It really was. Lu Ten leaned heavily on the railing to gaze down at Full Moon Bay, bordered on one side by the treacherous Serpent's Pass. The Fire Navy had come through the bay at the beginning of the siege, stopping all ferry traffic. Now the ferry boats drifted through the water once more. It looked like people were flocking to the newly free city.

"I've never seen it look like this. We had our ships docked here, and then there was the garbage from our campsites and the trail of burnt wreckage we usually leave behind. The Fire Nation doesn't have a lot of respect for other places, obviously."

"Isn't beautiful?" There were tears in the corners of Ayeshi's eyes. "We're shifting towards balance again. This is how the Earth Kingdom is supposed to be."

Lu Ten shifted, trying to take the weight off his injured leg. This was what the Earth Kingdom should look like indeed. And if his supposed death meant that the siege was over, then perhaps Lu Ten the Fire Nation prince could stay dead a little longer. Now it was time for Lee to sell tea in the lower ring.

"You're really leaving, huh?" Ayeshi's voice surprised him.

"What, you'll miss me?"

Ayeshi nodded. "I—I've gotten used to having you around." Her face turned pink.

"Well, I'm not leaving just yet. I've decided to stay a little longer. The Fire Nation can wait."

"Good. You know, I saved you because I thought you were handsome." Ayeshi's voice was shaking slightly. "I keep picturing you here, with me, which I know is selfish, but I just want you around. I don't want you going back to the Fire Nation, I like you too much for you to be gone."

Lu Ten smiled. "You like me, huh? Well, you're in luck. And perhaps you'll like this too." He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her, and as she leaned into him and kissed him back a thousand butterflies fluttered in his chest. As long as he was in Ba Sing Se, peace reigned and Ayeshi was soft and warm and safe in his arms.