Getting Toph out from her parents' thumb was simple in principle, Mai would only need to make some overtures and say how it would do her good to experience the life of the Fire Nation, relax in the spas, meet nobles, make connections, all while Mai and her security ensured that Toph was well protected and taken care off. From what Mai knew, Toph's mom would be all for it as she desired to have her daughter experience more than the walls of her estate.
The real problem was convincing Toph's father who was not too keen on having his daughter anywhere too far from him. That man took overprotectiveness to a whole new level. As they talked while making their way back Mai briefly toyed with the idea of revealing Toph's status as a master earthbender but revealing such a secret and then asking for trust was just dumb.
In the end, there was only one true way to get what they wanted even if Toph didn't like it, which was an understatement.
"I can't believe this is your plan!" Toph threw her hands in the air "Whine! You want me to whine! To complain and cry until my dad agrees to let me go!"
Mai cringed "Well unless you think he will agree instantly this is the plan and if you don't want to whine then just start crying."
"That's worse!" Toph always tried her best to control herself but there were moments in which she let her control slip a little and she was trying very hard to avoid making this one of those moments. Not only were they in a tunnel but if people felt the tremors up there then they might have someone investigate and any earthbender worth the name will realize that someone was here and where the tunnel leads.
"Toph, just think about it, a moment of discomfort for a lifetime of freedom. Is it really too much for you?" Mai appealed to her friend's desires and pride and she knew it was working when Toph started to fidget.
Sighing Toph put her head against the wall, to anyone else the hit might have been enough to knock someone out but to Toph it was just a comforting tap, it really wasn't much to ask, in fact, it was easy. Toph had done it before after all.
Want to get out of anything just let out some tears maybe fall to the ground and that was it, Toph could escape any dumb play date or social function. So why was it so hard for her to say she would do it?
In the end it came down to pride, Toph wanted to leave with her head held high as herself and not the scared little girl her parents thought she was.
"I will do it but you need to help me with my mom, I know she will say yes but if we get her support things will be easier with my dad"
Now it was Mai's turn to sigh, but she nodded "You have yourself a deal"
Toph couldn't believe she felt more nervous about this whole thing than the first time she stepped up to the arena.
"Mom" for the first time in years Toph called her mother not with the whisper-like tone of a little girl but with the voice of a champion. "Can I talk with you?"
Her mother gave her a radiant smile "Of course! It's been so long since you wanted some one on one time with your mother, I would never refuse!"
Toph winced as she saw just how happy this made her mom, it was true that she had stopped hanging out with her once she tried to put a stop to Toph's delight for getting dirty on the earth and their relationship had never really recovered because her mother pushed for things that Toph didn't like and Toph pushed for things her mother wouldn't approve of.
They walked to Toph's room and Toph made a move to sit, it was her room so Toph really didn't need any help but she didn't push away her mother when she took Toph's hand into her own and helped her to a seat.
"Now what would you like to talk about?"
"Mom…I- I want to travel with Mai to the Fire Nation!" Toph ended up screaming out her demand and prepared herself for the no that was about to come, she could already feel her eyes sting and prepared herself for the fake waterworks to come but instead of that her mother just stayed silent.
"Hmm…" not for the first time, Toph cursed that there wasn't any earth for her to see how her mother felt about it, it was nerve-wracking to wait!
"I know you care a lot for me but you don't let me out and I want friends! Real friends not like those play dates we have here that always make me feel bad and there is no war in the Fire Nation and it's super secure and I want to meet more nobles from there and-" Toph's rant was interrupted by her mother who put a finger to her mouth.
Then she got a hug. Toph's face was directly beneath her mother's and it reminded her of when she was little "You've been really lonely haven't you?"
Toph didn't trust herself not to say anything dumb so she just nodded.
"I'm sorry. When you were little you were so wild and so fierce, you might not remember it but at the time your father had made many enemies, some of them had threatened to take you, to hurt you and I just wanted to protect you but instead you were left here all alone and you stopped being you"
"I will be safe! I promise!"
"I hope so, I don't want to let you go, but you can't stay here forever either. The world is changing. Besides we were already planning to go, letting you explore with your friend who will have lots of security could be done"
"Mai also said that she knows the princess! Maybe she can help so dad has more free time for you and maybe you can have another child!" Toph said the last part not because she wanted a bigger family, no that was far from it, what she wanted was a distraction and Mai had told her that her mother barely paid anything more than the necessary attention to her while caring for her baby brother.
"Toph!" her mother was blushing, if the sudden movement of her hands towards her face wasn't an indication the heat that was now coming from her mother's face surely was "Well…maybe…I always wanted a big family but I'm not that young anymore"
"Mai had a little brother and her mother is waaay older than you" That was an exaggeration but flattery was useful and if her mother said anything about how the governess wasn't that old then Toph could blame it on being blind.
Her mother let out a little giggle "I will think about your last request but I think I need to speak to Mai and her mother before I decide anything. Your father will also have an opinion and he can be so stubborn at times"
It was now Mai's turn to suffer the consequences of her plans and to make sure she was successful she did something that made her spine crawl, Mai tugged at the hem of her dress and growled at the bright color of it all.
"You look great!" her mother had been very happy with her request, an eternity ago Mai had been like a doll to her as her mother used every opportunity she got to put her in one of those annoying dresses more so when they visited the palace, luckily Mai was smart enough to have other clothes there procured with the help of Azula who found it funny.
"I feel like a street performer" Mai deadpanned as she looked into the mirror, the bright yellow and green clashed horribly in her opinion but her mother had assured her that it was very popular here and if Mai wanted to be seen as tolerant she would have to wear it.
The only real thing that occurred to her while wearing this was to roleplay with Zuko, the great conqueror who would take her by force burning up her clothes to reveal her nude form beneath, or maybe the exiled prince who became enamored of an Earth Kingdom peasant. Zuko would get a laugh out of that she was sure and perhaps more…maybe keeping this dress for later wasn't a bad idea. "But I think it's growing on me"
"That's the spirit! Now let's go see Poppy so you can have a normal friend for once, I love Ty Lee and I wouldn't dare to say anything bad about the princess but they're not exactly normal people"
Mai had to hide a snort as her mother talked, if only she knew the truth.
Well, it was time and with a determined gaze Mai started walking towards her objective.
Author note: I'm trying to see if i feel more comfortable writing like this, i will do a few more chapters and see if it sticks or if go back to normal.
