The party was already in full swing by the time Kai arrived. Unfortunately, Yue was still right behind him. As he neared the front door of the nice house, which was wide open to welcome in guests, Ryken appeared to greet them.
"You made it," he smiled. He hugged Kai and gave him a deep slap on the back.
"Feels good to be out again," was all Kai said in response. His smile was wide. For not the first time, he remembered how happy he was that Ryken was back. Maybe he could start…feeling things again. His daily life was so boring otherwise.
Kai walked past Ryken into the rest of the house. "Yue," he heard his friend say behind him. "You came." He couldn't quite pinpoint Ryken's tone, but it was enough to tell him that this wasn't the first time the two were talking after the long four years Ryken had been away.
Deciding he didn't want to listen to their conversation, Kai turned to the rest of the room. Kids about his age, some a little younger, were scattered around the large spacious area. Only a few candles were lit, so the air was dim and musty. Drinks had been passed around, which Kai could only assume was Fire Whiskey. He didn't know much about the drink, only that the few times he'd been to the South Pole, Uncle Sokka always asked if they'd brought any along with them.
Kai walked along the wall, carefully observing the other guests at the party. He estimated there were about fifty people total. Most of the windows were open to let the night air in. Finally reaching the drink table, Kai poured himself a glass of the beverage. He sniffed and nearly gagged. The smell was strong.
"It'll burn going down, and it's usually painful if it's your first time drinking it."
Kai looked up. A tall man with dark shaggy hair had spoken to him. "Lovely," was Kai's response. "I can't wait."
The man smiled, and Kai finally saw through the low light how much older he really was. Milling around in the darkness, the man could've passed as a twenty-something, like most of the others there. But his forehead had deep creases, and his voice was mature with age. Kai guessed the man was in his forties. Why was he here?
"A response I wouldn't have expected from you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" said Kai with a chuckle as he raised his cup to his lips. The liquid touched his tongue and plowed its way down his throat. He winced. Whoa. Fire Whiskey. Was it made from actual fire? The after burn was almost worse, but Kai tried to keep his face straight as the conversation with the stranger continued.
"I just mean a man of your standing. Out at night…drinking whiskey." The man shrugged. "I wouldn't have guessed it."
It was strange to be recognized. Tazin, who looked exactly like their father, was the more recognizable one. To be fair, these days Kai didn't leave enough to actually test how often people recognized him. Either way, the man knew who he was. "Well I'm often a disappointment to people unfortunately. Despite good effort."
The man laughed, and then bowed. "Lee," was all he said.
Kai set his drink down and returned the bow. "I'm Kai."
. . .
Yue was still standing with Ryken, and they hadn't made it much farther past the front entrance. The smell of the room made her want to gag. This was supposed to be fun? She felt on edge, but didn't know why. Everyone there seemed completely harmless, but she couldn't help scanning the room every few seconds. A part of her was jealous that Kai had managed to make it past Ryken. She was still stuck in front of him. Any longer and she was just going to have to be rude and push past.
"Do you remember that time we all played hide-and-seek on the grounds outside the palace?"
"We did that a lot, Ryken. You'll have to be more specific." Her response was accurate. The three of them had played almost exclusively with Ryken as children. For some reason, their parents had kept them pretty sheltered, so friends were pretty hard to come by. Ryken was one of the few that stood out.
"I can't remember how old you were exactly…maybe eleven? But I know for sure Tazin was the searcher." His voice was soft and gentle, which felt uncharacteristic of him. He was looking right at her. Yue broke eye contact and scanned the room again. It looked like Kai had found a new friend. "After he started counting you took off, and even though you were so young, I could barely keep up with you."
Was he trying to flirt? Is that what this was? She supposed, based on how he'd acted during their conversation earlier that day, that he was trying to flirt. Not many had dared to do that around her. If this is all flirting was, she didn't think it was anything to talk about.
Without warning, his hand moved quickly, but softly, to near her face. She froze. Her breath stopped. Still watching her, he moved a piece of her loose hair, the strand Kai had yanked out earlier, back behind her ear. Despite the heat in the room, she shivered, just slightly. Shocked by the moment, Yue took a small step back from him. Distance. That's what was needed. When had he gotten so close?
Ryken was unphased. "You ran and ran and finally I knew where you were going."
"Oh yes I do remember this," she said, her voice matching his low volume. "It was that empty tree trunk of the old yew in the back." He smiled at her response and she continued. "You ran into it before I could."
His brown speckled eyes still hadn't left hers. "You were so mad. I remember wondering how someone so small could hold so much passion and emotion. Do you remember what you said?"
Something about the memory actually touched her and she felt herself smile. But only just barely. The tenseness she felt earlier had dissipated, and her muscles relaxed. Her gaze fell to the floor. "I believe I scolded you for stealing my hiding place."
Ryken turned his eyes away from her too, as though envisioning that past day perfectly. "And then I said, 'Tell me a secret, and I'll leave.'" Yue looked up at him again and noticed the lines around his eyes, probably etched from the years of laughter and pranks, which had surely continued while he was away at school. When he spoke again it was as though he was teasing her. In this characteristic tone, he said, "Come on. What did you say back?"
Despite her best efforts, Yue felt her cheeks blush. But she tried to respond with as much conviction as she had the first time she spoke the words. "'I'm going to fall in love someday.'"
Ryken chuckled softly. "You said it with such confidence that I couldn't even make fun of you."
"You can now. It was a ridiculous thing to say." Ryken laughed and shook his head as though thinking, 'You've not changed.' Something about it bothered her. "Then I think I said, 'Now leave before I freeze your eyeballs shut.'"
This only made her friend laugh harder. "You were terrifying," he teased. Though she knew many people thought this, including perhaps her own mother, the words stung. "I don't mean to be."
His laughter slowed and he turned back to her in seriousness. "I know."
Yue didn't feel there was anything else to say, so she turned to walk past him. He grabbed her arm to stop her and asked a question. "I guess I'm just wondering if it's happened yet."
"What? Your eyeballs?" She kept her face blank. "They don't look frozen to me."
Ryken closed his eyes and pursed his lips to hold back a smile. When he finally spoke again he spoke with composure. "No. I'd like to know if you've fallen in love already."
Every wall and guard inside of her flew up. Her muscles tensed again, just as they did before she was about to spar. Why would he ask that? She studied him and decided that he was markedly different from when he'd left four years ago, and she didn't like it. Yue jerked her arm out of Ryken's grip and spoke harshly. "That's none of your business."
. . .
The older man had poured himself a glass of the whiskey too. "How'd you find out about this?"
"My friend told me. He's over there." Kai motioned towards Ryken. Then he felt his head tilt in confusion when he noticed that Ryken was still talking with Yue. His hand was gripping her upper arm, and Yue's expression was deadly. Kai had been on the receiving end of that look numerous times, and he instantly felt bad for his friend. Though, it was Ryken's own fault if he'd said something stupid to Yue. He should've known better.
"That's your sister with him then? I've heard talk of her…." he trailed off as though he'd intended to say more but decided against it.
Kai nodded slowly and sighed. "Yep. That's her." He took another swig of the drink. It didn't burn quite so much now. In fact, he was starting to understand why people liked it. Something about the drink numbed his brain. Numbed the emptiness he always felt. He turned back to Lee. "Why are you here?"
"You mean why is an old man at a gathering clearly reserved for people under the age of twenty-five?"
Kai looked away sheepishly. "Yes?"
The man chuckled and Kai noticed he was gazing about the room. A group of boys had huddled around in a circle to watch another boy who'd started performing some firebending tricks. Their whooping and cheers filled the air loudly. "I was a teacher at the school most of these students went to." The man took a swig of his own drink. "But I was fired."
Curiosity burned inside Kai. "What for?"
Was that a rude thing to ask?
Lee shrugged, still watching the group of boys. A few of the girls had gathered around now too. "Good question. They never told me."
To Kai's surprise, his eyes caught sight of two, thin dual swords strapped in place on the man's belt. His long cloak hid them almost completely. "You don't strike me as a teacher," Kai replied. The man disregarded the comment.
Just then, Yue and Ryken joined them. Lee bowed. "Princess Yue."
"Please," she said, waving him off. "There's no need."
"This is Lee," Kai explained.
"Easily my favorite teacher," said Ryken, going in to hug the man. They embraced for a moment.
"Easily my favorite pupil," Lee responded with a smile.
"What was he like as a student," Kai teased.
"Hey," Ryken shot back. "I learned how to behave." Then he turned to his old teacher. "Have you seen Tharis yet?"
"I believe he's the one providing the entertainment tonight." Lee nodded to the boy the group of people were huddled around.
"Not surprising." Ryken grinned and motioned to Kai and Yue. "Come on. I want you to meet my friend."
The three of them left Lee and walked towards the now dispersing group of people. A few of them had now started playing music, and more Fire Whiskey was being passed around. Kai leaned over to his sister. "Don't drink the whiskey. It's terrible."
She glared at him. "Don't tell me what to do." She grabbed a glass someone handed to her and took a gulp. Her face showed it all. The wince made Kai smile.
"Told you."
Yue rolled her eyes.
Kai felt Ryken put a hand on his shoulder and pull him towards the strange boy. "This is my friend Kai."
"Huh. You weren't lying, Ry." The boy smiled genuinely and looked Kai up and down, as though checking to make sure he was real. "You really do know the royal family."
Kai glanced quickly to the side without moving his head. Yue did the same and they made eye contact for a brief second. This was annoying. Kai loved Ryken, but this was just plain frustrating. Kai took time to study the new boy. He was a little shorter than both Kai and Ryken, but looked to be about the same age. His face was narrow and his clothes a little worn. If he'd attended Ryken's school the kid must have come from a wealthy family, but the state of his clothes suggested the family must not have had much money to spare beyond schooling. His eyes were almond shaped and easily the most prominent feature of his face. From the small firebending tricks he could perform, Kai guessed the boy didn't know much combat firebending.
The small, skinny boy extended a hand. "I'm Tharis."
"Nice to meet you," said Kai, taking his hand gingerly. "Those were some cool tricks you were doing a minute ago.
"Why thank you, Your Highness." Kai couldn't decide if he was being sarcastic. "I've heard you and your brother are amazing firebenders yourself."
"I'm nothing compared to my brother."
"Ahh he's just being modest," said Ryken, slapping him on the back.
"No really. Tazin's incredible."
"Where is Taz?" asked Ryken, as though just realizing he hadn't come to the party with Kai and Yue.
An awkward moment passed.
"He couldn't come," said Yue firmly. Kai could feel her eyes bearing into him and his face warmed, but he didn't look at her.
"Too good for this sort of thing I suppose," said Tharis. "He's better than the rest of us degenerates then." This was followed with a laugh from Ryken. Tharis took a swing from his whiskey and grimaced. "Damn that burns." Then he turned to Yue. "You must be the princess."
To Kai's shock, Ryken put a hand on Yue's back. She froze. "This is Yue," he said looking down at her with a smile that made Kai want to punch him. Yue opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when a few others joined their group. Two guys and a girl. Names were exchanged, but Kai didn't bother remembering them.
"I heard talk the princess was here. Never would've believed it 'til I saw it though." The boy who spoke was large. That was the only word to describe him. His chest was deep and filled, and he stood about as tall as Ryken. His hair hung in front of his face in black greasy strings. Kai looked up to him and immediately hated him. His mouth twisted into a disgusting smile as he stared at Yue.
Every instinct in Kai was telling him to get out of here. Ryken's hand had drifted to Yue's waist, and to Kai's surprise, she didn't push it away. But he looked into his sister's face as she stared at the large boy. There it was. He knew that expression perhaps better than anyone. She was planning her battle attack. Her features were completely still, and Kai supposed he was the only one who knew what could potentially be coming. Yue was naturally small and petite, but she looked miniscule amongst so many males. Her silver hair seemed to glow amongst the sea of black hair. Kai's breath quickened.
The movement of Ryken's hand to Yue's waist did not escape the large boy's notice. "Don't worry, Ryken. I understand."
Sensing the tension, Tharis changed the topic. "How 'bout this whiskey though?" He smiled and lifted his glass again. "I don't know about you all but I think it tastes different here in the capital than it did at school."
Kai almost laughed at the sheer balls of it all. The large boy could've pummeled Tharis in less than a minute, and didn't seem the type to need a good reason for doing so. Yet Tharis didn't appear disturbed by the tense situation at all.
"Shut up, clown," was the large boy's intelligent response.
Tharis nodded his head. "Yes, sir." The sarcasm went undetected by Mr. Muscles, but it didn't escape Kai, who smiled at the response.
Another girl joined the group and grabbed onto the large boy's massive arm. "Come on, Mo. I'm bored."
"Hang on, babe. I'm making some new friends." His eyes never left Yue, and Yue's eyes never left him.
The girl immediately looked at Yue too and scanned her up and down. She seemed apparently unimpressed with what she saw. Yue didn't flinch even a little at the girl's judgemental gaze, but when the girl did the same to Kai, he immediately felt uncomfortable.
"Gross. I'm leaving." The girl tossed her sleek black hair over her shoulder and stalked away.
Tharis spoke first. "A real charmer you got there, Moaz."
The large boy, Moaz, glared at Tharis, who looked like a toothpick next to him. Then he spoke to Kai.
"Where's your brother then?"
"He couldn't come tonight," responded Yue for Kai. "Too busy."
Moaz smirked. "Interesting." He folded his arms across his large chest, which only served to exaggerate his extremely large biceps. "You know, I've heard talk he doesn't even live at the palace anymore." Kai's heart stopped beating. "Abandoned his country, they say."
All the breath had officially left Kai's lungs.
Yue was again the one to respond, sensing Kai's inability to speak. "You're stupid if you believe rumors like those."
"Am I, Princess?" He lifted an eyebrow.
Ryken, seemingly wanting to lighten the mood said, "Why don't you show us some waterbending, Yue? A lot of people have never seen it before."
Kai thanked the spirits for the change in topic, but Yue turned to look at Ryken as though he'd just said the sun was blue.
"She's not some show pony, Ry," said Tharis, instantly making Kai like him even more.
"That's rich coming from you," replied Ryken.
Tharis' jaw clenched and he looked away.
Moaz smirked. "No. Ryken's right. I'm curious to see if she even can."
Kai almost wanted to warn them, but he decided seeing the surprise on their faces would be so much more satisfying. Yue took a step back, Ryken's arm falling away from her waist. She folded her arms, smiled and nodded as if saying to herself, 'Alright then.'
In a flash she bent water from the drink table and the pouch at her waist. It flew out, around the room, and then split in three separate streams directed towards Ryken, Tharis and Moaz. The three boys were blasted back to three different walls and instantly frozen in place, their arms cuffed in ice above their heads. Yue stood straight again and smiled. Then she straightened her clothes, smoothing out wrinkles that weren't there.
Kai had seen her bend numerous times, not to mention the countless times he'd seen his mother bend as well. There was nothing about water bending that was new to him. But from a stranger's eyes he could understand the exoticness of it all. Yue, despite wearing normal red clothes, was different. Her blue eyes, silver hair and even the way she carried herself were unfamiliar to people like this. Not to mention the weird OCD habits Yue had had since as long as Kai could remember. If anything, her obsession with precision and perfection made her all the more terrifying.
"FREAK!" Moaz was struggling in vain against his bonds. Tharis was grinning. Ryken looked horrified. The ambient conversation in the room stopped. Everyone was either staring at Yue or the boys frozen to the walls.
Yue whipped her head to look at Moaz. His face was nearly the shade of a ripe tomato. Anger boiled over. His body temperature rose so high he melted out the ice and fell to the ground. With a yell he was running towards Yue. For such a large person, Kai he moved fairly quickly.
Kai saw Yue crouch and prepare to bend again. But, without deciding to do so, Kai stepped in front of Moaz' path and punched him square in the jaw. The hit was so surprising and jarring that Moaz hit the wooden ground. His heavy body made a large, resounding thud.
Kai grimaced and grabbed his hand. hurt. He shook his fingers out, willing the throb to go away.
A laugh echoed from across the room and Kai turned to see that Tharis' face was filled with glee. Though he was immobilized against a wooden wall, he seemed to be having the time of his life.
Moaz jumped to his feet, his own fists clenched to punch back. Breathing heavy, he stared down at Kai, who to his own surprise, didn't flinch. In fact, he had to keep himself from laughing at what his sister said next.
"You're embarrassing yourself, Moaz. I wouldn't try anything."
Yue's voice seemed to break Moaz' attention away from the prince. He stared at her instead. Then he pointed angrily in her direction. "You and your mother are an embarrassment to this country," he yelled. "You belong far away from here with your own species." Spit sprayed from his fat-lipped mouth as he spoke.
"You can say whatever you'd like," said Yue calmly. "But the more words you speak the less intelligent you sound."
That was the tipping point for Moaz. He lunged for Yue who side stepped easily. The rest of the people in the room had gathered in a large circle around Kai, Yue and Moaz, unable to tear their eyes away from the scene playing out in front of them.
Moaz stumbled when he only caught empty air. This made him even more angry and he yelled loudly. This time Kai was unsuccessful in containing his chuckle. Unfortunately, this turned Moaz's attention back to him. Kai didn't notice in time and his face took the full brunt of Moaz' fist. He heard a crack in his nose and felt blood stream down to his chin. Damn.
Everyone in the room gasped at the hit, which only added to Kai's embarrassment.
His vision was blurry, but Kai recognized Yue's voice. "I could have you thrown in jail for that," she stated calmly.
"I'd like to see you try, freak."
"Call her that one more time and I'll make sure you're in there for life," said Kai.
Kai didn't see Tharis because of the large group of people, but he heard his high-pitched laughter from somewhere along the back wall where he was still pinned.
Moaz stood to his full height, wiped blood from his own nose and spit onto the ground. "A crown prince who mysteriously disappeared. His puny brother who can't even fight his own battles…" Here he looked towards Yue and scoffed. "And a half-breed who doesn't even belong in this nation."
A silence settled over the room. Everyone held their breath.
No one moved an inch.
Moaz chucked and wiped his nose again. "This country's gone to the dogs." He spit again, this time right on Kai's face.
Kai seethed, and every training his father had ever given him on containing his rage was forgotten in a second. His sister had apparently read him perfectly, because her hands were on him instantly, preventing the blowout that was sure to come. Not punching. Not hitting, but the full extent of his firebending.
"Don't. It's not worth it."
Kai shoved his sister to the side. He spoke only to Moaz. "Tomorrow at noon."
"What?" Moaz looked down at Kai, egging him on. "Say it."
The prince wiped his nose again, ignoring the pain it sent through his face. "Agni Kai."
Moaz laughed deeply. Almost bellowed. "An Agni Kai against a prince of the Fire Nation." He sounded like he was mulling the idea over in his own thick head. He took a step towards Kai and Yue. "Are you sure?"
Yue grabbed Kai's arm with surprising strength. "What are you doing?" Then she whispered so only he could hear. "Think of Tazin, idiot."
"What was that, Princess?" Moaz went to grab her.
"Don't touch me," she snapped. Kai felt her pull him closer to her.
Kai was still looking at Moaz. "What's your answer?"
"At noon you say?"
Kai gave a single nod.
"The sun'll be high." Moaz took a step as he spoke. "I accept."
"Wonderful," said Yue sarcastically. Still holding onto his arm, she jerked Kai away from the scene.
Kai finally tore his eyes away from Moaz, following after his sister. Annoyed, he ripped his arm out of her grip. As they continued to the door, Kai caught sight of the older man he'd met at the beginning of the party. He was sitting along the far wall where they'd left him, his expression curious and intrigued as he watched the prince and princess leave the room. His legs were crossed and he had an arm slung around the empty chair next to him. He looked as though he'd just finished watching a very entertaining show. When they made eye contact, the man tilted his head and lifted his glass to Kai, a smile spreading across his face. No one seemed to have noticed the man's acknowledgement of Kai except Kai himself. It made the prince smile back.
Kai looked down to the swords strapped to the man's belt and quirked his head in confusion. The ends weren't like normal swords, nor like any Kai had seen his mother's brother train with.
They were hooked.
A/N I've officially made it a another story on my page. Next chapter will probably be posted there:)