Chapter 28: Kindred Spirits

They had calmed from their overwhelming excitement by the time they made it to Paradise Falls. They didn't even take a moment to cleanse themselves of the chaotic thrill of the party at the fair; they simply watched the group of waterfalls that surrounded them, reveling in the beauty of the water as it crashed and mingled with the stream. At this point, many people were either returning to their homes or leaving to dine at the nearby restaurants, but Yue and Sokka stayed within their gondola, nibbling on creamed ice.

"This is all very beautiful."

Yue spoke of the breathtaking waterfalls, but Sokka was looking at the princess the entire time. "Yeah...you are…"

"Sorry, what was that?"

He snapped out of his trance, "Uh…'she.' I said 'she' is beautiful. Since the North is referred to as a 'she.' You know, as the Land of Tui."

"For some reason, I thought a disbeliever like yourself wouldn't refer to the North as Tui."

"Oh...um...I was speaking your language for a moment there. You silly believers and your gods."

She smiled and turned her attention back to the falls, their waters reflecting the lights of the dynamic aurora in the sky. "A silly, believing tribal poet once wrote a poem about the North in Angkaran. Shin anunah u-Nur aibi wodia m'Tui mannah. Ichira ingunnaati? 'The land of the North is the lap of Mother Tui. Who would want to leave it?'"

"Not me, that's for sure," Sokka sighed dreamily at her, "Kind of want to stay here forever."

Beneath a bright ray of silver light, the Southern prince saw that there was a tear on Yue's outer robe near her shoulder. Her hand rubbed subconsciously over the torn fabric in an attempt to provide an extra layer of warmth over her relatively thin tunic. Sokka ended up unwinding his cloak and draped it around her, startling her for a moment.

"You're cold, Princess."

"No, Sokka, you need it—"

"I'm wearing another coat."

"It's okay, I—"

"You're shivering."

"No, I'm fine—"

"Dronningi!" came the exaggerated cry, "You've done so much for us! We can never do anything to ever repay you—!"

"Okay okay, don't shout."

Beaming, he straightened his cloak around her, making sure she was warm, and Yue could do nothing but blink in his direction. It was a weird feeling that she was feeling as she saw him smiling at her. She couldn't describe what she was feeling exactly; there was some kind of nervousness, some kind of comfort, a bit of confusion, and a whole lot of warmth that coursed through her. She didn't entertain this feeling, though, and cleared her throat as she looked away. "Thank you. I'll, um, have it washed before giving it back."

Tilting his head in amusement, "'Cause that's what's most important right now, isn't it, dronningi?"

She swallowed down the weird feeling, smiling it off, but a glint of wistfulness took over her in spite of her outward smile. "You've been very kind to me today, isumataq. I've never trusted a man so quickly the way I trust you." And she turned to face the waterfalls again, her expression unreadable.

Sokka softened his eyes, "Are you doing okay?"

"Of course," she said. "That party was a great way to unwind from all that matchmaking nonsense."

"But you're still thinking about it, though, aren't you? The matchmaking nonsense, I mean?"

She only sighed in response.

He reached for her hand tentatively and held it in a gesture of gentle reassurance. "They're idiots, Yue, don't mind them. They'll never be involved with you or your life for any reason. Not ever."

"I know…" And she did not say anything more for a few minutes, finding the prince's touch to be oddly comforting. It was in the wake of that comfort, those few moments of him waiting, listening for what she had to say in a genuine manner— at least, it appeared to her that way— that she finally admitted, "Khasiq threatened to kill the chieftain if I didn't choose a man tonight."

And Sokka, who hadn't known that part of the situation, widened his eyes. "He did?"

"It was his way of making sure I didn't resist. That's why he was with the chief, carrying a knife with him at all times."

The prince slightly paled from panic. "I...I didn't know this...What I did...I'm not sure how that would fall into—"

"It fell into place perfectly, if you ask me," Yue said. "Khasiq was wanting me to choose a man, and I guess I technically 'did' by asking to be alone with you. Chances are, he'll think I chose the Aguntak warrior without knowing he was the imposter, and the kidnap happened to be an unforeseen circumstance. But even before all of this happened, I was all ready to face Khasiq if need be. I was ready to give away my entire identity, expose all of my abilities if need be."

"But that would've put all of your plans in jeopardy—!"

"What mattered the most to me in that moment was doing whatever I could to halt any and all possibilities of a marriage happening. I wasn't going to let any of those suitors take even the smallest chance of dominating my life like that."

Many times that evening, she'd seen her life flash before her eyes, nearly every moment she experienced being a secret from the world, and she pictured in her mind the many possible scenarios that probably would've taken place the moment she would find herself letting loose. Everything she'd gained with the help of a single mask, everything she would lose with the relinquishment of the said mask. And topping that, the struggle of being a woman in the Water Tribe, wallowing in a culture that created false lessons of enduring "bittersweet pain" which did not have to exist whatsoever.

"It's like when a Fire Nation aristocrat compliments his Water Tribe slave for having a strong, capable body and dark skin that can endure the heat," Yue mused, "but really it's the aristocrat's way of saying, 'Hey, you're well-built for the oppression I'm forcing upon you.' In reality, the Water Tribe man should run free, but the fools who fail to see that would praise the slave for his endurance, blame his supposed 'bad karma' as the justification for his suffering."

There was obvious bitterness in her tone, a silent rage behind her indignant huff. It was, after all, no secret that the women of the tribe were raised with the "lesson" that they were masters of endurance in their own ways, all for the wrong reasons. When they marry, they must leave everything about them behind. They are expected to blindly follow a man that they don't know much about. We should not only accept but attract that strange on their wedding night. They should bear his children, and if they don't, it is deemed that "clearly" it's their fault, and they are seen as burdens to the planet henceforth. It was, as she implied, the same deal that the Water Tribe slave would get: a lifetime of endurance for undeserved suffering, its justification resting on karmic theology.

"We are told that we should be proud of the pains we experience, that we should accept them as an integral part of being a woman. The pain of leaving home, the pain of trying to fit in with a new family that sometimes doesn't even act like a civilized family. We are always going to be strangers to them, and they have every right to step over us, but we must serve and love them greater than life. And this 'tradition' has been going on for so long that most of us can't even envision doing anything else. Anything self-fulfilling or self-realizing."

And all Sokka could think about when she said that was Auntie Khunsha of the South.

"I know guys have their own problems, of course," Yue said, bringing him out of his moment-long paralysis over the horrific image, "and I'm never going to underestimate that...and I am never going to get Hama's extremism out of my mind. All those innocent men...those fathers, brothers, sons who were really just trying to provide for their family…" a thoughtful pause before, "And yet, in terms of cultural habits... it seems like men are automatically given a free pass on additional pain and suffering that comes with being separated from one's home and childhood...one's identity and life…"

Sokka nodded, sighing, "I'm not a woman, so I'll never be able to understand what it's like personally, but I've definitely witnessed the extreme side of it."

He told her, then, about Khunsha. The haunting image of the tribeswoman's body hanging limp from a tree in the snow forest, her skin blistered from the whipping cold, the frozen hearts of her in-laws, and the chilling ignorance of former-chieftain Pakku given his involvement that most certainly drove Khunsha to this point. Sokka could still picture the numbness that had struck her husband as he stared at her lifeless body that night. He could also remember the disappointment and terror that had gripped Khunsha's superstitious in-laws, who instead of weeping for a woman they should've treated like a daughter had only rambled over the possibility of her coming back to haunt them. It was a moment of pure and utter disgust for a grim reality— moment that he knew would always stick with them.

"Pakku dealt with a lot of blows when Katara retaliated against the purity laws," Sokka said. "It would've made for massive damage of his reputation if we hadn't been distracted by the economic crisis. But he's not the type to learn his lesson. He loosened just a few of the laws, and that, too, only in our house, and he taught Katara bending and combat only because she's his granddaughter. The man's been disappointed that he didn't have a chance to teach me since I turned out to be a nonbender like Gran Gran and my parents, and Kohana wasn't born then, either, so he didn't think there'd be another boy in the household to carry on the skills. That's why he taught her what he knew."

But overall, the former chieftain, in the words of the Southern prince, "learned absolutely no fucking thing" from Khunsha's tragedy and was "still holding onto his sexist yakshit," for the current expectation in their household was to send Katara to her in-laws' when the time came.

"There's definitely that expectation for Katara to leave after she gets married," Sokka told the princess. "The thing with Katara is that she actually wants to leave home for once. She's never been anywhere. Pakku never let her leave; he never let her come with me to trading missions. So naturally, she's always felt trapped in the South. But if she ever decides that she wants to stay in the South, then she shouldn't be stopped from doing that." A bitter sigh. "I can't have her turn into my mom."

That certainly drew more of Yue's attention.

"My mom's the typical obedient housewife. Silent, self-sacrificing." He shifted in his seat on the gondola, watching the waterfall with the princess. "You know, dronningi, sometimes I wonder how things would be like if my dad was the one who left to go live with my mom and her family. If we all grew up there. For one, I probably would've been more in touch with my uncle."

"You have an uncle?"

"Yeah. Uncle Amaruq, my mom's older brother. He lives in Jinghu, now, in the Earth Kingdom." Sokka smiled. "When I was little, I wanted to be just like two people. My dad and Uncle Amaruq. Dad's a great warrior and public speaker, and I always looked up to him. Uncle Amaruq is pretty good at those things, too, but that man was on a whole different level of crazy. We had some wild adventures together. He's very open-minded. Loves breaking rules just for the heck of it. He used to visit us for every holiday with his wife, Ki'ma, and our cousin, Kiguk. And Auntie Ki'ma always made the best seal jerky crisps."

"What happened?" she asked. "I'm assuming they stopped visiting at one point."

"Yeah. After what happened with Auntie Khunsha, Uncle Amaruq and Pakku had a nasty fight. He basically handed it to Pakku, and Pakku was pissed. Told him never to set foot in our house ever again. And the last connection my mom had to her home life disappeared after that." He looked at the princess. "I visited him every time I went somewhere close to Jinghu, so I found one way or another to stay in touch with him, but my mom never even talked about him in front of Pakku. Or at all. Deep down, she knows he didn't do anything wrong when he confronted Pakku, but she's silenced. Not by force or anything, but...she chooses to be silent because she knows retaliating would only split the family up."

Indeed, many of the decisions the Southern chieftess makes to this day aren't even hers, for the most part, all for the sake of keeping the family together. The one thing she really wanted for herself was to see Sokka and Katara settle down and have families of their own.

"But that's a safe wish, I guess," Sokka said, "for an obedient daughter-in-law to have. Wanting her kids to settle down."

They did not say anything for a few moments, letting the conversation sink over them. They watched the water tumble down much like the weight of unspoken truths on their shoulders.

"Katara shouldn't be like that," the Southern prince said. "Well, it's not like she can be anyway. She gets bossy, gets involved quite a lot, and she's not gonna sit back and do nothing when there's so much to do for our sisters in the Water Tribe. And it's good that she's like that because she needs to vent. Let out her emotions, nag everybody as she sees fit all day long. She needs to be free." And that's why even if his older brother instincts were kicking in whenever she went on bison rides and stuff with Aang, Sokka wasn't stopping her. He'd much rather have his sister do all this than be an empty shell for the rest of her life. "And if she runs into a guy who'll understand her and stay behind for her sake…" And even if that guy happened to be a certain Air Nomad instead of a traditional Water Tribe gentleman like Pakku would expect…"then there's nothing wrong with that, and she should be able to stay."

Smiling at him, "You're a good brother."

"I know, right? Please tell her that for me, will you?" he said, managing to draw a slight chuckle from her. "But in all seriousness...why shouldn't we be allowed to keep family close?"

"Because you're all part of her world, and in the eyes of people like your grandfather, femininity is about giving up things," Yue said. "If a man comes to stay with his in-laws, then it would be deemed as an emasculating move. A 'good man' should be in his own house, not be dependent on a woman. But when a woman marries, she comes to live with her in-laws because her identity is expected to become her husband and his family only. And when she succeeds in making that happen, she will be a 'good woman.'"

A short pause set in. Yue swallowed hard, eventually muttering with a fierce look, "But I don't want to be a 'good woman.'"

He turned to her with softened eyes. "You shouldn't be—"

"I'm a woman of pride and dignity, Sokka," she frowned. "I could never handle spending even a millisecond in the vicinity of people who couldn't care less about me. I know I'll certainly never see myself so shamelessly, ridiculously begging someone to care about me and accept me like they make the obedient housewives do in all the plays. And I sure don't plan on squashing my pride like the rest of my sisters are being forced to do."

"And you shouldn't," he seconded her thoughts. "You need to be you. You need to be the example that the North needs."

She hugged her knees to her chest, his robe wrapped snugly around her. "The chief was wanting to cut all ties with me after trying to send me away with those Earth Kingdom imposters. Because his burden of a daughter would be gone then." It turned out to be a bad experience and was thwarted, yes, but even if it didn't happen, I would've found some way to escape."

And then, of course, Fire Lord Iroh. He thought about finding his son a nice wife, and he chose Yue because he apparently liked how she was looking out for her country and thought she would look out for the Fire Nation in a similar way. But he seemed to have missed a teeny tiny, considerable, important, gaping, earth-shattering point: Yue did what she did for the sake of her home, and if that was the case, why would she leave her home behind?

"They all thought they could just make me leave the North. My North. These people think they can just take everything away from me...no...take me away from everything that is mine...And they expect me to be fine with it. More than fine, actually. They expect me to kiss the ground they walk on for providing me with a new life in the Fire Nation. As if the Fire Nation was the only heaven on earth." With an incredulous shake of her head, "Fire Nation or not, if my supposed 'in-laws' are anywhere that's not the North, they would expect me to leave everything behind. But look how beautiful my North is. Why should I have to leave it behind? Likely for a...a man-child who couldn't care less about me and my interests? I mean, can you imagine being away from the South for good? That, too, for a woman you barely know? You can't, right?"

He could hear a fierce hiss in her tone every time she referred to the North as hers. He could see the possessive love for the land in her look. And he recognized these things because he held them, too, with regard to his own homeland. His love for the South. "The North is always gonna be yours, dronningi," he told her. "Don't let those people waste your valuable time. A man who really loves you will never separate you from the North for any reason. I know there's a guy out there just waiting for your okay, Princess."

Unmoved, "'Love,' huh?"

"Are you against it?" he blinked, "You never seemed like you were against it."

"I have great respect for it. Who doesn't love love?" she shrugged, "I just have zero expectations of it happening to me personally—"

"Why not?"

Giving him a look, "You know, for someone who's all about being free from binding oaths and love declarations, you seem to be bringing it up quite often."

"That doesn't mean I'll be against love if it happens to me!" he flushed. "You said it yourself: Who doesn't love love?"

"I suppose that makes sense...even if it plays against your freedom argument from a few days ago," she mused. "If it's innocent and pure and respectful, then I'm all for that kind of love. I'll even play matchmaker for it. There are so many people around me who are happily in love...even if they're under conditions shaping typical gender roles…" she reached into the water beside their gondola and ran her hand through the stream, "but I also know that these days, it is too dangerous to give your heart to someone. Loyalty is apparently too much to ask."

"There are faithful people out there, Princess."

"I know, but I still hesitate," she splashed some water in the direction of the waterfall. "Imagine if someone puts a box in front of you, and the box has...let's say about seventy raw cactus pickles and thirty soft, refined pickles. And you have to close your eyes and pick one pickle from the box. Wouldn't you say the probability of you getting your fingers pricked by the raw cactus is much greater?"

"Of course it is. Seventy to thirty isn't a fair deal."

"Exactly. The situation in the North is the same under Khasiq's influence. I might not look like it, but in my lifetime so far, I've heard and seen quite a lot." There was a slight tremor in her voice. "I've seen Imona after her loins were so cruelly mangled by a bloodbender. I've heard of women who were burned alive by their husbands and abusive in-laws for failing to bring them groom prices. I've even seen a family try to asphyxiate their infant girl because they thought they would never be financially stable enough to marry her off with monetary gifts for her groom in the future." Glaring at no one and nothing in particular, "I swear, sometimes it feels like some marriages are really cases of systematized prostitution in disguise."

The prince gaped at her given the boldness of the statement.

"I'm no optimist when it comes to extreme cases like this," she said, reading his surprise. "I'm just a pessimist that smiles a lot."

And it was understandable. The North was not in a condition to foster wholesome relationships as much as toxic ones. "Why can't people just get along? Make it easy for the rest of us?"

"The universe needs some form of chaos, I guess."

"As if there's not enough already."

Yue held a look of firm resolution on her face. "No matter how chaotic things may get, I'm not going to leave the North. I was born here, and when my time comes, I will die here—"

"Yue," he stopped her with a squeeze of her hand, a look of alarm crossing his features. "Don't say things like that, okay? Today's supposed to be fun for you, and you're over here talking about... something happening to you..." And giving her a resolute look, "Nothing's going to happen. No one is going to take you away from your North. I'll make sure of it."

She looked at the hand that was grasping hers, feeling the sincere weight of a promise he did not have to make but still did. It was strange how this prince had a way with settling her apprehension. Flashing him a teasing smile to ward off the awkward warmth again, "I suppose it's not all bad. Certain men remind me that there's hope for our women after all."

"Am I one of those men, Princess?" he asked hopefully.

"Well yeah...but there could still be a possibility that you're secretly a serial killer hiding an ax under all those robes you got there…"

Frowning, "How touching."

She chuckled, her fingers ruffling his hair, bringing the smile back to his face because beneath the mask of jokes was really a moment of unmistakable appreciation.

Time was of the essence given they spent a lot of it at the Glacier Festival, Paradise Falls, and a local Gungham restaurant, so they raced back to the capital in their gondola, speeding up their originally-thirty-minute journey to only fifteen minutes with the aid of Yue's bending. Their appearances remained soiled from the colors, but luckily, Yue knew of a convenient place for cleaning up, and it just so happened to be the courtyard at the back of the Moon Temple, an area referred to as the Water Complex, which remained unexplored by Sokka until now. The warrior didn't think the temple even had a courtyard, and yet, here he was, taken past the garden space (this temple had a garden, too?), proven wrong and utterly astounded by what was finally before him.

It was a vast courtyard. A haven of ice in its architecture, particularly its spacious terrace, and not to mention the foyers separating the building from its grand verandah, bordered by intricately-sculpted pillars that housed sconces for torches. And in the center of this vastness was a very large circular stepped pond. The steps were designed nearly entirely by black marble, their edges smoothed out with a slightly curved shape. Even so, there were thick, blue-dyed pelt carpets spread over the stairs, likely as a measure to avoid injury. The pond at the center was rather big, too, to be called a pond; perhaps it could be called a mini reservoir of sorts, kept somewhat enclosed by the steps but still allowed to pass through drains underneath, thus mixing with the interconnected water system that allows the ocean to navigate throughout the entire tribe. There were whale-shaped pipes, too, around the circumference of the stepped platform, and with the pull of a lever as demonstrated by Yue, water spewed forth from their sculpted blowholes and tumbled down into the pond, the sight mimicking the scenery of a waterfall.

"This place is amazing," he breathed. "Seriously, I didn't think I'd ever come to appreciate the architecture of a temple so much."

Pride shone on the princess's face. "Well?"

"You sure you're okay with me…?"

"It has to be filtered out tomorrow anyway," she said. "I purify the water on a regular basis. It's not used for rituals, either; sometimes people immerse themselves in the water for purification purposes."

"But still," he gestured to the obvious "La" symbolism in the ink-black steps, "Isn't this supposed to represent Yang or something? Isn't this 'La?'"

"Aren't we all?"

His hesitation turned into a wide smirk as he cast aside his outer robe, boomerang sheath and boomerang (why wasn't the boomerang in its rightful sheath?) and all other overbearing belongings before diving headfirst into the water.

"Careful there," she chuckled at his enthusiasm as he hit the water, soaking his color-stained tunic and pants.

"The water's perfect, dronningi, come on in! Waterbending-bomb it!"

"Well you're going to have to scoot back a little bit."

He obeyed, beaming and rubbing the back of his head, telling himself not to drool (or at least get caught drooling) over the princess. She took off her outer robe, brushing away some of the colored powder that was stuck to her tunic; in the wake of the moon's luminosity, she smiled down at him below, her color-tainted hair glimmering as it blew in the wind, and in that moment, she appeared to him like Tui who was casting her spell on the world, all grace, poise, and class. And when she jumped in, it was like the moon fell right out of the sky and plunged into the water, her light spilling over the uncovered steps to make it seem like they were swimming in the cosmos amid the stars.

"Spirits, that feels great," she submerged and bobbed back up, letting the water wash away most of her stress. She didn't spot the prince beside her but definitely felt the splashes of water from behind her. "Hey!"

"What? That wasn't me," he feigned innocence.

"Who else could it be then?"

"I don't know, maybe your Spirits?"

"Are you sure it wasn't your universe?" She splashed water back on him with a fiendish smile, and he toppled backward in the water with a breathless laugh.

"Come on, Princess, I don't stand a chance against you. I'm only a nonbender."

"Is that supposed to make me go easy on you or something?"

Grinning, "I was hoping so, yeah."

They spent more time than was probably necessary in the water, tackling each other with water before Yue retreated to the marble steps for a break. Given the mess that the colors made, Sokka officially got his hands on some seaweed soap and cleaning equipment afterwards, taking charge of the task of washing the steps clean of their colors. He insisted on doing it himself, too, so her long-anticipated henna didn't wash off in one sitting. Needless to say that he wasn't gifted with such chores much to the amusement of Yue, whose sides hurt from laughing every time he made a silly mess and griped to himself about failed cleaning endeavors.

"You don't have to do this, you know," she said. "How about I take care of it? I'm a bender besides; it'll be over for me quickly—"

"No, it's okay, I got it! Really!" And he dragged his tired self around the steps, protesting her protests and putting forth all of his effort. For a disbeliever, he was quite invested in making sure everything was spotless, but that was obviously only out of the goodness of his heart and not to attract her attention or impress her or anything. With sore muscles and an aching lower back, he took a seat beside her on one of the steps, where she was dusting a few books that were left beside one of the pillars.

"You worked really hard, isumataq," she said, "Maybe you went overboard just a little bit?"

"Eh, no big deal," he puffed up his chest, "I used to help my mom out with stuff like this all the time…"

"Really?"

"Well...when I was little, I did...er...I attempted to. Once. And everybody kind of banned me from cleaning after that."

"Why?"

"Let's just say things happened."

She leaned forward, curious. "What things?"

And it wasn't like he could refuse given the way her big, baby blue eyes were blinking at him expectantly. "So I was washing the pelts one fine day, and I had this huge bucket of water next to me, right? And that was when Pakku walked in. He'd gotten a big wart on the back of his butt, and wearing pants was uncomfortable for him, so he was walking around in his loincloth that morning—"

"Oh no, this can't end well."

Chuckling, "And he was chilling next to the fire and stuff, and I was hard at work washing the pelts, right? But then I ended up knocking over the water bucket, and he just so happened to slip and land right on his butt, which Katara had accidentally freezed to the floor—"

"Oh Spirits—!"

"She was, like, five, I think, and had zero control over her bending," he went on. "And there was nobody else there, and we didn't know what to do, and apparently I ran through the neighborhood screaming, 'Gramp-Gramp's butt is stuck to the floor—!'"

And by then, she was caught up in peals of laughter. "Alright, that's enough, I can't laugh anymore—"

"It's almost over, though!" And he went on with the chaos that was amped up in their neighborhood and the rest of their village with the urgency that little Sokka had displayed in rallying up the men. Needless to say that it had not been a pleasant experience for the older man.

"And your folks still didn't lift the ban?"

"Nah. They probably won't anytime soon."

"Well they should consider it since you did such a great job."

"I did?" he squeaked.

"Yeah. You've been a big help."

He grinned to himself, puffing up his chest a bit more as he asked, "I'll put those books away for you, by the way. Where do they go?"

"In the love chamber over there," she gestured to a room behind one of the pillars. "Don't worry, I'll put them away myself."

"The love chamber, huh?" he raised his eyebrows. "Why is it called that? Are there, like, more Tui and La statues in there or something…?"

"No, not really."

"Did something happen?"

"You could say that, yeah." And she chuckled to herself, likely embarrassed by whatever memory that was running through her mind.

"I told you a story like you asked," he pointed out. "You won't tell me one?"

"Fine," she closed the book in her hand, her cheeks slightly colored, "I once caught a couple hiding in that chamber. They were...quite busy...with certain things…"

"What were they doing?" And after being hit by the train of momentary stupidity, his eyes widened, "Wait...were they...were they having sex? In the temple? Princess, that's a line even I think shouldn't be crossed, and I'm a disbeliever!"

"The universe works in strange ways, Mr. Wang."

"How old were you when this happened?"

"Probably fifteen or sixteen. It's been a few years."

"How did you find them? Like were you going in there 'cause you needed something or…?"

"Well...I was the only one in the temple that day. Priestess Osha had to take care of some things, so she left me in charge, and none of the angakkuit were here. And then I kind of...heard them…" She flushed in response to his slick grin, "And I've never heard those kinds of sounds before, obviously."

"Obviously."

"Yes, obviously, so I thought someone was trapped in that chamber and needed help…"

Sokka did his best to keep from bursting out laughing, shaking his head as his grin stretched from ear to ear, "Oh universe."

"It really sounded like that, though!" she said defensively. "All that screaming and... gasping…" she flushed further as he started chuckling, "I'm serious, I thought they couldn't breathe in there or something!"

And she told him how, being her naive self, she worriedly made her way over to the chamber and burst through the door, asking if they were alright and how long they'd been trapped in there, but the looks she was given by a couple that scrambled for clothing...it was a moment she would never forget.

Prince Sokka took a pause in his laughing spree, whispering, "Were they...you know... naked...?"

"Prince Sokka!"

"I mean, they had to be, right?" he burst out laughing again, finding her embarrassment quite cute, but truth to be told, he could feel his face coloring, too. "I mean, isn't that how it works…?"

"Well thank the Spirits I didn't see the man, but the woman, I did see. It wasn't bad. Well...It could've been worse, let me say that…"

He struggled to catch his breath, "What happened after that?"

"I turned around, obviously."

"Yep, that's important," he wheezed, "What did you say after that?"

"I didn't know what to say at all. I guess I just...didn't believe it…But somehow I managed to tell them to be careful—"

"Careful?"

"What else was I supposed to say?" she whined as he guffawed.

"That brings about a whole different meaning, Princess—!"

"Well I wasn't aware, okay? I was just trying to be nice!" Frowning as embarrassment took over her features, "Stop laughing!"

"I'm not laughing!"

"You're clearly laughing!"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," his hand flew to his abdomen in the midst of his howls, "Okay, okay...What else happened? What did you say?"

"I told them to finish what they were doing and go home before anyone else gets here."

Smirking, "Did they finish?"

"Sokka!"

"What?" faking innocence again, "I'm just asking if they finished the job or ran out of there."

"Well they still took their sweet time after that—"

"So they finished," he chuckled, "And no one knows that happened to this day?"

"Well, I was so embarrassed and needed to tell somebody about it, so I ended up telling Priestess Osha."

"What did she say?"

"She just laughed all day long."

"You didn't get in trouble for letting them get off the hook?"

"Nope. In fact, she said I did a good thing." Turning to look at the very chamber that was the subject of their conversation, "She still laughs whenever she goes near that door. It's an inside joke between us."

"So the angakkuit don't know about it, huh? They would have gone crazy." He sat up straight, nearly on the verge of falling back into the water, "Must've been random."

"The incident was. The people, I met beforehand."

"You knew them?"

"I performed a ritual for them a few minutes prior. They were having trouble conceiving."

"So they were most certainly not being careful," he joked to her further embarrassment, "I guess they were desperate to test out their luck in the temple."

"And it worked."

"It worked?"

"That lady got pregnant with quadruplets." Shrugging, "What can I say?"

"Oh wow. How did you find out?" Smirking, "Were you following up on them or something?"

"No, they came with their babies to the temple a year later. Priestess Osha made me give the blessing."

"Of course she did," he snickered, finding that he very much enjoyed her flustered look. "Say, Princess, would you be okay with me looking inside the love chamber?"

It was like any other chamber in the Moon Temple— dimly lit with torches, intricate in its sculpted cave-like ice, dark with little slivers of moonlight peeking through a hole or two in the ceiling. And yet, this chamber differed from the others in the way that it held a library of sorts. Well, more like a collection of pamphlets and prayer books. It was only fitting, after all, to house works relating to the world parents in the very room that held a rather fertile air about it.

"What's this one?" Sokka picked up another book that caught his eyes from a shelf near the window. The cover held an engraved title: Kissing the Gods.

"It's an anthology of poems," Yue explained.

"Erotic poems," he sieved through some of the poetry. Some were written down in the Common Tongue, and others were written in Angkaran or Nagaran. Snorting in amusement, "Is this supposed to be religious porn or something?"

"You're very lucky the angakkuit aren't here to hear you say that, you heretic," she teased. "If they heard you, they would've burned you at the stake."

"You're the one speaking of heresies, oh great Defender of Horny Believers?"

"I have greater heresies than those," she said, "like letting 'ungrateful' disbelievers explore our sacred love chamber."

Smirking at her, "I'm only pointing out that your texts are racy."

"Are religious texts not supposed to be sensual?" she asked. "You'd be surprised at how many racy texts were banned by Khasiq's administration."

Indeed, Khasiq's appeal to conservatives was centered on their pro-modesty and anti-sex rhetoric, but obviously that can't be the case with statistics showing how the number of women being sexually abused is getting much higher.

"Sure we don't always have a good impression of sex in a place like the North, but we can't deny that it's one of those things many living creatures are wired to be interested in. Our ancestors who wrote these poems are no different. As a matter of fact, you're no different, either."

"What are you trying to say, Princess?"

"Nothing. Just that we as humans are often attracted to certain...processes…" she said. "Besides, isn't lovemaking supposed to be something that brings pleasure? Or so I've been told."

"I've been told that, too..." All color came rushing back to his face as he dodged her amused look and picked up another book titled, My Other Half. "What's this one?"

"This one's a novel," she said. "It's quite revolutionary if you ask me."

"Is it from your banned books collection?"

"It's a banned book, yes, but Osha kept it in the temple for a long time."

Looking at its cover, "What's it about?"

"It's about an alternate universe where a Water Tribe town is separated into male and female districts after major cultural shifts and increased sexism. The men and women live separately and form their own societies."

Blinking, "How in the world is that even possible?

"That's something the novel expands on. There's no romance or love or coexistence of men and women. No marriages, no relationships involving the other sex, nothing like that. This doesn't really affect the preferences of men who favor men or the women who favor women, but it's unfortunate for people who favor the opposite gender."

"So they never meet?"

"Nope. They are strictly segregated."

"What if you wanted kids? How's the population gonna…?"

"Once a month, every full moon in the evening, the gates open, and the committees in charge assign one man to one woman for twelve hours. The people who are paired up might not be paired again next time; it's all random. During this time, all the way up to sunrise, the assigned couple could do whatever. And if the woman gets pregnant, great. If not, then no. "

"And if she did?"

"Well the man wouldn't be notified. If the woman has a baby girl, the girl stays in the women's district. The father still wouldn't be notified."

"So they never know if they had a daughter," he said. "That's depressing."

"But if it's a boy, the father is notified and has a year to prepare himself, and the baby is sent to the men's district to live with him after the year is up. The mothers can never see them again."

"Why after a year?"

"Fathers can't breastfeed, so…"

"Oh, right."

"Then we have the protagonists of the novel," she said. "They are implied to be Tui and La who incarnated to end this nonsense, and there's a lot of symbolism that supports this theory, but they can also be seen as normal humans. Anyhow, they fall in love and try to escape the system. It gets pretty interesting."

He ran his hand over the front cover of the book. "I'll bring back the other short stories you gave me. I finished them last night and this morning."

"All of them?"

"Yeah. I might not look like it, but I'm a fast reader." Holding up the book of his most recent interest, "Can I borrow this? It sounds interesting."

"Is it because you're interested in the plot or…?"

"Yeah, why else?"

"Well there has to be a reason why they're in the love chamber, don't you think? There are some really racy scenes in here."

Blushing, "That's not why I'm interested."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Holding his head up high, "I'm a man of honor and class, Princess."

"So you're saying you don't have any racy pamphlets where you come from?"

"We didn't even have much of an economy, so readership is kind of out of the equation."

"But surely you talk about these things, don't you? With your guy friends? I'd imagine they are all married and talk about these things sometimes." She raised her eyebrows. "Are you really as innocent as you seem to be."

"You're okay with talking about these things in front of your Spirits?" he flushed further.

"The Spirits are lovers themselves. I'm sure they'd be very interested in these kinds of things. In fact, that's all they do." She stood up and wandered around the room, glancing at the not-so-subtle weavings on the tapestries on the walls. "Shirunnan kisu suqhur' kes amien i'kungan. 'The world is sustained in holy lovemaking.'"

The Southern prince felt like he was on fire at this point.

"Besides, it's not like you to point out rules. You're the one who straight up called our texts religious porn and kept making double entendres so confidently the entire time you were here."

"Confident? Me? Pfft," he shrugged it off, "I mean, that's what we want you to think, but... "

"But really you're an innocent sack of moonpeaches, hm?" she chuckled. "Do you at least have preferences?"

"P-Preferences?"

"I mean, are there any qualities you're looking for in a lady?" Grinning wickedly, "Large chest area perhaps? There has to be a reason why you tried to lure Kinji with that."

"It was just a random idea!" he squeaked with beet-red cheeks, "There's nothing like that!"

"You're trying too hard to not offend the female race—"

"And you are having way too much fun with this, Princess!"

"Well it's not every day you see such a shy tribesman around these parts, isumataq. We need our fun, too."

There was a playful look in her eyes that he found to be both sweet and blissfully destructive, and while he reveled in it, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to bounce back from it.

"I'll let you borrow as many books as you'd like, but what about my flute lessons?"

And after sporting a look that meant he just now remembered something highly important, Sokka's hands flew to one of the many pockets in his outer coat. Following a few hectic moments, he pulled out two slender bamboo flutes, placing one in her hand with a promise. "Starting tomorrow night."

And with that, they prepared for what was to come next. They tied wraps around parts of their body to make it seem as if they'd been in danger. Yue tied a strip of cloth around her head and applied some liquid vermillion near her temple to make it seem as if she was bleeding through her bandage, covering herself afterwards with headscarves and masks that she kept as spares at the temple. Sokka applied the same "vermillion-blood" technique to his wrist, soaking an arm-wrap with the pigment. Afterward, the duo slightly tore their clothing beneath their robes to make it really seem like they struggled to escape from "the imposter." And after taking care to appear disheveled and "attacked," they stepped out into the merciless tundra, making their way for the inner ring.

"I still smell like the fair," Yue noted as she sniffed the sleeve of her tunic beneath his robe. "They'll know something's up."

Sokka simply reached for his boomerang sheath. He carefully eased out its contents: a collection of fragrant white ipomoeas.

"We could cut a path through the eastern wing. Hopefully, there won't be any guards there…" she trailed off, looking at the moonflowers that he was now holding up to her. She blinked at him, bemused, "Um…?"

"For you, Princess."

"Me?"

Flushing as he smiled sweetly, "Yeah. So it'll help with...you know, since you said it's a natural perfume…"

"Oh...thank you so much…" The princess tentatively took them, taking a moment to smell the rich flowers, "You've come prepared, I see."

"Yep!"

She worked quickly to fix the flowers in her hair, making sure to keep the hood of his cloak draped over her, and from his peripheral vision, he took a peek at her adorned hair, feeling warmth rush up to his face.

"May I ask you something, Sokka? Wolf-Moonite to Wolf-Moonite?"

Partly surprised and partly curious, "Yeah, go for it."

"Did you tell the chief about your birthday by any chance?" she asked. "Do you think that's why he was interested in you…?"

"I swear on the universe, I did not say anything," he said, "Though I'm not sure if my parents told him about it. But I feel like the chief would've mentioned it if he knew."

"Right," she nodded, "I wouldn't imagine him to keep that excitement to himself, either."

Eventually, they finally stepped into the inner ring, expecting guards to jump in front of them any minute, and true to their guess, they were spotted by a sea of guards— Loyalists rather than Nationalists. And accompanying them were other prominent Loyalists: Zhi, Ivaneq, and Ping, who quickly recognized Sokka and breathed sighs of relief. To the left of them were another group of guards, this time belonging to the Revivalists as confirmed by the presence of Sayen and her comrades.

"The princess!" a guard exclaimed.

"The princess is safe!"

"Prince Sokka found the princess!"

Adhering to the plan they worked on hours before, Yue linked her arms with Sokka, displaying a "fearful" disposition regarding the approaching guards and leaning against the prince as if she found his company to be safe and comforting. Sokka tried putting a pause to the fluttering he felt in his chest from her touch and her closeness, clearing his throat and holding his chest up as he and the princess were approached.

"Princess!" came Arnook's relieved voice as he rushed up to his daughter. The look in his eyes was priceless as soon as he spotted Sokka beside her, but he was momentarily taken aback with alarm by their disheveled appearances and "injuries." Sokka managed to strike a gesture of calm in his direction, and relief flowed in profuse amounts from the chief following that. He still faked his accumulated panic, though, and darted across the snow, followed by numerous additional guards and several healers and maids who rushed up to the princess.

From a close distance behind the chieftain trailed several White Lotus sentries, chief among them, particularly Piandao, Jeong Jeong, and Monk Gyatso. And a little ways behind him was Khasiq, who was rushing forward with the company of several Nationalists along with his assistants, Nuqao and Ishuqan. The assistants found themselves backing away behind their leader as Sokka shot them a brief glare, wordlessly reminding them of how he'd nearly turned them into pulp the other day.

"Princess," a few maids raced ahead and nearly surrounded her. They were quickly joined by Sayen and her crew. Yue, however, flinched away from them and held more tightly onto the prince, putting a convincing act of being frightened to the core.

"Oh dear, she must be so shaken by what happened," a healer noted, turning to Arnook, "We need to examine her—"

"The princess needs rest more than anything," Sokka snapped at them in annoyance, "So hold off on your 'examinations,' will ya?"

"Prince Sokka, I don't mean to offend you, but you're not exactly a grand healer yourself to know what you're saying," the head healer stepped forward with a frown.

"I'll send a healer privately to her quarters if need be," Arnook ended the discussion there. "Prince Sokka, I'm not sure how to thank you for all your help. We will talk over the details later."

"Did you catch the imposter, Sokka?" Piandao asked.

"I was able to disable him long enough to free Her Highness," Sokka said, "but unfortunately, he did escape before I could get to him. I felt my priority was to make sure the princess got back here safely, so I escorted her here, but the imposter is still out there."

"Did you see him clearly?" inquired Jeong Jeong. "Can you recognize him again?"

"I couldn't see him that clearly. He was wearing a lot of face paint," Sokka said.

"Your Highness, have you gotten a chance to see what he looked like?" a Loyalist guard asked Yue next. "Last we saw you, you were unconscious, but did you ever get a chance to see him?"

Yue shook her head, keeping her gaze on the floor.

"This is not the time for you to be questioning the princess, besides," Sokka said sternly to the guards surrounding them. "In fact, this should be the time for all allies of the princess to be on high alert. It is our sheer good luck that I was able to reach Her Highness and briefly disable the imposter before anything could happen, but we are far from having the threat eradicated. That imposter was sent by someone. Someone with treasonous intentions." Directing his glare to Khasiq, "The enemy could be standing right under our noses. In fact, he is right under our noses, and every one of us can figure out who it is if we use our brains just a little bit."

And Khasiq, frowning back at the prince in a mixture of bewilderment, caution, and incredulity, felt a skip in his heartbeat as everyone began eyeing him, having followed the prince's gaze.

"Are you saying you're suspicious of someone, Prince Sokka?" Gyatso asked.

Sokka did not answer right away but kept his glare intact on Khasiq, who had taken a step back, trying hard not to show his panic on his face. "What are you looking at?"

"When I first set foot in the North a couple of days ago and learned about the situation here, I initially thought it was a bad case of conflicting tribal goals and political rivalry, but only today do I see that this rivalry has gotten very immature on your part, Khasiq. Ethically disastrous."

The White Lotus sentries turned in the direction of Khasiq, a move that sent sweat racing down the man's face despite the stinging chill of the Arctic, "What on earth are you blabbering about?"

"You were the one who oversaw the matchmaking event, weren't you? You were the one who invited, interviewed, and organized the princess's suitors. Do tell me, Advisor Khasiq, is it your sheer stupidity that made you overlook the situation at the event which, by the way, escalated to the point of an imposter taking the place of a suitor to infiltrate the palace? Is it the incompetence of those fools you call guards in securing the event? Or is this something that you've deliberately planned?"

The looks on the White Lotus sentries' faces were contemplative and alarmed. Khasiq glared daggers at the prince, genuinely confused by the accusations. "Planned? What exactly are you trying to say?"

"That it's a shame that the tribe knows who exactly is likely involved with all of this but still refuses to speak up."

"You're blaming our master when this could very easily be the work of that lunatic who slayed Kinji not even twenty-four hours ago?" Nuqao snapped from his place behind Khasiq.

"I see how considerate you are of the humanitarian crises that are plaguing the tribe if you're so quick to label the motive for Kinji's demise as lunacy," the Southern prince retorted, leaving the surrounding folk frozen from his ferocity. Even Yue was pleasantly surprised, blinking at him in admiration.

"But that's beside the point," Sokka huffed. "What I'm interested in right now is a full-on investigation of Khasiq and his team by the Order of the White Lotus." Turning to the White Lotus members, "I'm hoping the honorable sentries will look closely into this matter before extreme boundaries are crossed. This is a matter of treason against the rightful authority of the Water Tribe, and I'm hoping it is not taken lightly."

"The prince has brought up some very valuable points," Sayen agreed. "On behalf of the Revivalist Party, I voice my support for the investigation."

"Hold it right there," Khasiq glowered at the Southern prince, "You've been here for a few days at the most, and you think yourself to be an expert with regard to the political environment here? All ready to take sides and issue false accusations in my direction? I am the right-hand advisor to the chief, and that is not without reason. Who do you think you are to just throw your suspicions on me—?"

"As my bodyguard, Prince Sokka has every right to question who he thinks is a threat to my well-being," the princess interrupted, swiftly ending the argument.

Sokka widened his eyes as he felt a leap in his heart. Bodyguard?

"Bodyguard…"

"Bodyguard?"

"Bodyguard!"

Several guards— Loyalists, Revivalists, and Nationalists alike— whispered amongst themselves as Khasiq blinked in the direction of the princess. Piandao, Gyatso, and Jeong Jeong, while also surprised, zeroed in on an incensed Khasiq and his quivering assistants. Arnook silently uttered a million praises to the Spirits.

Sayen was especially shocked, looking at Sokka as if to ask him, When on earth did you win over the princess's trust without my knowledge? Nevertheless, she said, "Bring her inside, Prince Sokka."

The Northern princess and the Southern prince shared a knowing look before being led into the building by Sayen and a couple of Loyalists. Khasiq, meanwhile, was oozing venom as he watched them, but the leaders dismissed him.

"The princess will take rest," Arnook said to the surrounding maids and guards, "You are all dismissed. The assigned Revivalist ladies will take up their night shift duties and keep watch outside of the princess's chambers. And Prince Sokka," he turned to the warrior, "Please escort the princess to her room, son."

In a matter of minutes, it was just the two of them with Arnook following for a short distance. Both young leaders basked in the other's excellence, their heartbeats pounding from their performances.

"All these actors and actresses in the Water Tribe, they've got nothing on you, Princess," Sokka whispered.

"It takes years of practice to pose as the perfect damsel in distress," Yue said, "Though I'm sure it takes longer to be so articulate with words." Smiling at him, "You put a lot of soul into your words, isumataq. I'm floored."

Beaming, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, murmuring, "The chief's watching."

She did not mind at all; in fact, she seemed to lean a bit closer to the prince. And in the reflection of the ice pillars, they could both see Arnook smile and sigh in complete relief as he stopped following them. As soon as they rounded the corner, the leaders relaxed in their touches, leaving between themselves the distance that they had kept closed until now. Yue pulled her mask aside.

"And so it appears you have accepted me, Princess," he said, halting as they reached the corridor of her chambers.

"It's not like you gave me a choice with that Sokka charm of yours."

"Sokka charm?"

"Yep. Specifically, 'Oh dronningi, you've done so much for us!'"

He chuckled, "Believe me, Princess, this will be a mutual deal. You'll be guarding my body as much as I'll be guarding yours."

"Sounds like a deal."

"All that's left is my position as the ethics minister," he said, "But if I managed to snag the position of your bodyguard and official fake suitor, I don't think it'll be a problem winning over your approval."

"I have no moral qualms against it, Mr. Wang," she said. "All I ask is that you take tonight and all day tomorrow to think about this one more time. And if you really want to take up the position, talk it over with your family first. I imagine you've already talked to your family about being my bodyguard, and our fake courting arrangement is to be left a secret. Now, I'm asking you to get approval for your involvement here. I am not going to have you become a member of my cabinet unless your family members give me their okay."

And Sokka's smile dimmed a little as he pictured what his father's reaction would be. His parents were disapproving of every moment he wished to share with the princess. After all, they did refuse all hopes of securing a marital alliance, and his mother's horrified reaction to him wanting to be her bodyguard was not something to be easily forgotten. Even so, Sokka was up for the task; all that was left was convincing his parents somehow. "Alright, I'll do that."

"Remember, this isn't just for your family's approval. I'm wanting you to take some time to think over it yourself. You are supposed to be leaving right after the conferences, but your trip might be postponed if you wish to seriously serve this position. I'm not going to make you keep away from your home, and I certainly don't want you to get involved in this just out of gratitude for me or something."

"Not at all. In fact, I'd like to express my admiration in a different way."

"Pardon?" She watched as he reached into the folds of his robes beneath the Aguntak warrior's fur coat. He pulled out his best creation to date: the bangles that he'd been working on ever since they hit the water back in the South. They were tied together with a fancy blue ribbon. He excitedly held the bangles out to her, a giddy grin on his face, "For you, Princess Yue."

She only stared at the bangles in a stupefied manner until he took her hand and placed the bangles in her palms. The bangles were a safe Water Tribe hue of deep blue with crushed rainbow crystals in the center, followed by the accompaniment of little silver bells shaped like crescent moons. Sokka had spent extra time customizing it a little more, and attached to the bangles at the top of the bells were teeny wood carvings that probably resembled some kind of animal.

"I made them especially for you," he said with a twinge of nervousness, "I didn't know what color you liked, so I put in crystals of all different colors. Like a rainbow."

It was then that she began to process the fact that the gift was actually for her. Examining them with fascination, her gaze turning soft, "You made these all by yourself?"

"Mhm."

And peeking at her lips was a delighted little smile that gradually widened, more and more until it touched both of her ears, "Aww, Sokka, you shouldn't have!" She marvelled at the little moon-shaped bells and the carvings atop them, "You even carved little bears..."

"Actually they're supposed to be fish," he pointed to them, "See the fins…"

"Oh," giggling, "They're very lovely. I love them very much."

"You're probably the only leader I've met who deserves all the riches in the world, Princess," he said with all sincerity possible, "but you had everything saved to your treasury for the people. I admire everything you do, every way you look out for your people, and I also know you're not one for luxury, but still," looking at the bangles, "I hope you'll always keep these with you."

Yue smiled at her gifts, swallowing the lump that was rising in her throat out of the strange warmth in her chest that was consistently raiding her throughout the day. "I don't think I remember the last time I received a gift out of the goodness of one's heart. The gifts I receive are usually obligatory and forced." Looking at him, "Thank you for this, Sokka. I'll be sure that nothing will ever separate me from these."

And with that, she took off her gloves and slipped the bangles on carefully, watching them perfectly compliment the blue henna that decorated her skin. She was reminded of what the prince said earlier. "Who knows, maybe the universe is waiting to give you some bangles." And she smiled at the significance of the words. Holding up her hands as the bangles jingled against her arms, "How do I look?"

Smiling softly. "Tui always looks beautiful."

Following a breathless pause, the princess gulped, "This has got to be one of the best nights of my life. I don't remember the last time I had so much fun." A soft touch of his shoulder, "I'm not sure how to thank you, Sokka, for everything you've done for me."

"Don't you remember from the 'Monsoon Moon,' faithful human?" he teased, momentarily making his voice deep. "You promised me a kiss."

The lines in the poem she recited came rushing back to her then, particularly the last verse:

To be your companion,

To fly free within your sky,

This is my wish. So take me,

Steal me under the moonlight.

Keep to your loyalty,

And a kiss you will get tonight!

"But seriously, Your Highness, I just want you to be ha—" he paused as her hand grasped hold of his. Gently she brought his hand up to her lips, and she placed a soft, tender kiss on the inside of his palm, her baby blue eyes piercing his dark oceans.

"—p-p-pp-ppy…" he exhaled with great difficulty, his face colored to impossible degrees as he looked from the princess to his Tui-blessed hand to the princess once again.

"A huge thank you to the great La who is present in our wonderful isumataq."

He swallowed. "Uh…It, uh...was a joke, but, uh...okay…"

She laughed at his blushing form and dopey grin. "Oh wow, you're turning red. It's a friendship kiss, mind you."

"Huh…? Uh...yeah! Yeah, of course, yeah…" Oh universe.

"What, no one has ever given you a friendship kiss, either?"

"Uh...Not really, no," he shook his head, realizing that a shake of the head and a garbled, "no" were probably redundant but still failing to care.

"I understand. I don't do friendship kisses either. But you're the exception, I suppose." Grinning, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Huh?"

"Tomorrow? Flute lessons?"

"Uh…" clearing his throat, he simply nodded, probably more vigorously than he intended to. He meant to say something else but completely forgot as she gave a respectful bow and turned back, walking down the corridor, her face turning equally red.

What on earth was that? she asked herself, feeling a drumbeat in her chest that seemed to have surpassed human levels. Do such friendship kisses even exist?

But it was inexplicable, her sudden urge to kiss his hand. It was a sweet gesture, yes. No boundaries were being crossed, right? Yes, no boundaries were being crossed—"

"Dronningi?"

She paused in her step and turned around, "Isumataq?"

Flashing his dopey grin again, "Sweet dreams."

She smiled and waved, "Happy dreams."

Hakoda was staring at his oldest with a look of pure incredulity and disapproval on his face. The disapproval was obvious for many reasons, especially from the fact that Sokka was coming home at two hours past midnight after having spent the day with a woman. The incredulity came from the fact that never in his life did Sokka ever behave like this with anyone, much less a woman, so to see him act so drastically different from who he had always been at the South was quite a surprise for Hakoda. Frankly, the Southern chief had been worried that given Sokka's poor communication skills around women combined with his stubborn insistence of not taking a wife, the prince would drift through the South as a loner. But today, though ideally Hakoda was supposed to be relieved that Sokka was viewing someone with interest, it was the realization that this "someone" would not be a good fit for the family (at least, in Pakku's eyes) that was holding the chieftain back.

"The maids have been telling us about you inviting a random girl to our estate, spending so much time with her, and eventually having her sleep here," Hakoda told Sokka sternly. "Your sister jumped in and told us that she is a friend of hers, that she herself asked you to invite that servant girl over. But I'm not an idiot, Sokka. I can see that this is your doing."

Sokka did not respond to that.

"And when we got back from the tour, we found out that the princess has been kidnapped," the chief went on, "And we know that as her self-proclaimed bodyguard, it is on you to find her. But what I'm having trouble piecing together is the fact that five hours ago at nine hours past midday, when everyone should ideally be having dinner or being asleep, you go on and party with a woman in the streets, acting like a hooligan when you were always against dancing in the first place. And not to mention that it was likely for this woman that you blatantly refused to come on tour with us and faked your digestive problems to stay behind."

Again, Sokka did not speak.

"You might be my son, Sokka, but that doesn't mean I have the stupidity to believe that you will turn into a ladies' man overnight," Hakoda said. "That woman you brought home and that woman you partied with so shamelessly is the same woman, isn't she? And that woman is the princess, yes?"

The prince nodded, looking up at his father.

"I thought your mother and I told you to keep away from her."

Frowning, "You also told me that you won't stop me from supporting her openly—"

"Yes, and I realize that it was our biggest mistake," the chief glared at him. "Just because you're about to be initiated into the Order of the White Lotus doesn't mean you can call for an investigation on Khasiq, of all people!"

"How is it wrong to call for an investigation on someone who's looking to end her life?" Sokka asked. "The princess…she's in trouble, Dad, don't you know this—?"

"It is not our problem, Sokka," Hakoda reiterated in a harsh tone.

"If we aren't willing to stand by her in troubling times, then we don't deserve her gifts," the young warrior said. "Don't you think?"

But Hakoda could not answer to that directly in spite of knowing deep down that Sokka was right. How pitiful was Hakoda for a leader if he was shying away from protecting the savior of the South, who was currently in danger under the Khasiq administration?

"She's a force, I tell you," Sokka breathed, affection taking over his gaze. "She's smart and kind and fun and funny and thoughtful. She's so compassionate. She doesn't seem to do anything for herself. She's been trapped for most of her life, and just a couple of hours ago, she was about to get forcibly married to some idiot, and…and I wanted today to be fun for her. That's why I invited her to the estate and made all the necessary arrangements for her to relax a little. It's her estate anyway! She was the one who gave it to us!"

Hakoda huffed, the look on his face still disapproving of the prince's actions.

"She's just so perfect, Dad. She's a true patriot. She cares about the Water Tribe. She cares about her people and our people. She gave up so much to give us everything, and the least I could do is make sure she had a fun day—"

"It's attraction, Sokka," Hakoda interrupted, briefly silencing his son. "She might have made a kind gesture that we will never forget and can never repay, but in believing that she's perfect, what you have for her is still just attraction. So why are you taking this so seriously?"

Sokka shook his head. "It's not attraction."

"Then what is it? Gratitude?"

"Not just."

"Then? What is it? Love?"

"Yes," came the all-too-serious reply.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard coming out of your mouth. We've been here for three days, Sokka. Three days!"

"And these have been the best three days of my life," Sokka said. "I really don't get it, Dad. Two days ago, everyone agreed that she was our hero, and you and Mom and Gran Gran and Gramp Gramp were jumping all over the place trying to get me hitched to her even though we hadn't even seen each other's faces and didn't know a single thing about each other. But now, even when I myself feel this way for a woman for the first time in my life, just because of the location of her birth, you think she's going to bring bad luck to the family? You know, if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right here in the comfort of the fanciest house known to mankind!"

"Sokka, you don't understand, this isn't just a matter of—"

"I don't care what the matter really is. All I know is that if your precious La didn't strike me down for being a disbeliever all these years, then he sure as hell won't strike down someone who leads with her heart and soul and puts everyone before herself." Shaking his head in disappointment, "I don't get why you don't understand something as simple as this. And I really don't get why you and Mom, despite being your own grown selves, are still living in Pakku's shadow."

And at that, Hakoda, his eyes slightly wide, turned to Sokka, unable to process if this was what really came out of the younger warrior's mouth. "Sokka, learn to control your tongue."

Taking a deep breath, "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna lose the princess in any way. And I'm sure as hell not gonna hold onto these superstitions that do nothing but divide and discriminate against people. She's my Tui. I know it. I can feel it."

The Southern chief watched as his son stormed into his room. The weight of Osha's words began to sink in from the back of his mind:

"From today onwards, there will be a rise of tensions between you and your son...It is a matter of justice. The Spirits have willed it. And I must warn you. Only if your hearts are open will Tui stay; if she is displeased, the Spirits will leave your household."

But the princess can't be Tui. Tui would never overstep the purity boundaries, right? Right?