Building had not been a task many people of Xei or Rhijaj often considered. For most of them, they had never built before at all. Being expected to start their first project with such a large building nearly seemed impossible. It did not help that the stakes were so high. At least if they willingly chose to indulge in architecture, the consequences would only be an issue if they opposed laws of their lands. The giant had set no laws, but the people already knew her leniency hardly existed, if any of it did. This knowledge made their movements shaky and uncertain. One mistake could cost someone their life. There was another part of the process which made this even more difficult: the fatigue. Compared to the others, the soldiers were best suited to work late into the night and next day. Other citizens and subjects who were unaccustomed to such physical labor began to tire. The rising sun hurt their eyes and made beads of sweat pour off of them.
Benders used their abilities more than they had during their entire lives. Nonbenders were not spared from this fate of overworking. Everyone had to tax their bodies. They were all being watched by the giant. Around mid-afternoon, the roof was completed, but this hardly meant that the people's work was done. They still had a castle to furnish. Enormous rugs were woven so that the floors would not be bare. Even this task became difficult due to the size. Airbenders used wind to move strips of cotton over one another. Fear was in the group as they asked themselves if there was enough. The other benders continued their work as well, sometimes working with nonbenders such as their task in creating cushions. Inaya worked with the other waterbenders to try to keep everyone hydrated. Actual water breaks would take longer than Azula allowed, but the benders could move water into the workers' mouths. No one had to stop to get a drink. However, this did not lessen the strain that was on everyone.
"I don't want a throne made of earth," Azula said, approaching the workers. "Make it out of finely polished wood."
Durnaz fought against a frown. "A throne made from stone could be finished in a couple hours." She gestured around to the mostly empty palace. "Making everything out of stone could lead to your castle being completed in that time. We could have it carved so that it resembles polished wood."
There was a slight pause as Azula considered this. It could be nice to have the work completed faster than the alternative would allow. Of course, it also would have been fun to watch the people fret over the fact that they lacked enough trees to supply the lumber. Surely, they had already realized this. It was probably why the suggestion was being brought up. Regardless, Azula did want to have her new home finished quickly.
"I know that using stone is an attempt to make it easier for yourselves," she commented, eyeing the people. "Fortunately for you, I place more importance in having a palace than punishing you for your arrogance. Make all the furniture out of stone, but I'll inspect it when you're done."
The group silently sighed a breath of relief as Azula returned to the shore to watch. Earthbenders began shaping stone into chairs, tables, and more so that the castle was no longer plain. They felt grateful to the small princess, believing that rest was within their grasp. All they had to do was hold on a little longer. With the final piece of furniture done, the group felt that they were mere moments away from collapsing. Azula did not wait for them to say they were done before she approached again, looking over the building with an inspecting gaze. Her new subjects awaited anxiously for her verdict. The princess swiped her finger along the side of a table. She looked at it, making the people even more worried.
"This is passable," she told them. "You're dismissed."
The groups bowed and started to walk away to their homes. Before they got far, they heard fire. Instinctively, Buraid, Sabit, and several other firebenders turned to deflect the attack. Only, it had not been directed at them. The rest of the people turned and saw rage on Azula's face. Her right hand was balled into a fist. When she released it, something fell to the floor. There was a long, charred body of a snake.
"You tried to kill me," Azula hissed. "This odd creature was on my royal throne."
"We did not know that it was there," Megat assured her. "We had been working so much that we thought snakes would have been too frightened to be in this ar–"
"It was here and you knew that," the giant said, becoming angrier. "You thought this would be an easy way to get rid of me."
"We truly did not know that it was there," Ebrah stated. "Originally, we were going to clean the entire palace before we told you that it was finished."
"So, you're now blaming me for your mistake?"
Azula's cold gaze moved over the crowd until it landed on someone. She pointed to the man.
"You, you'll be the one to die for this."
The subject's eyes widened in fear.
"He wasn't responsible," Durnaz said.
"Then who was?"
The smaller princess hesitated, then spoke again. "Not who, what. Ignorance is responsible. It made us unaware of the risks. Now that we know what could possibly happen, we can prepare in the future. We'll be working in your palace. This information can be used for guards who keep track of what enters."
Azula still was glaring at the man as though he had personally selected the offending animal to torment her. She let out a sigh and turned away from the people.
"Fine, I suppose you are all ignorant. I shouldn't be surprised that you're fools. If it happens again, a dozen of you will die. For this time, I'll just imprison him."
The giant reached down into the crowd, causing a panic as many of them began to run. Despite their attempts at escaping, Azula captured her target. She trapped him in her fist, then walked behind the throne. Placing the prisoner on the ground, the firebender then made cell bars with flames. They covered the ground in a straight line, preventing anyone from going through.
"If anyone else upsets me and I'm feeling merciful, this will be your fate," she informed them. Azula sat upon her royal seat, then flicked her wrist. "Leave."
This time, the groups left faster in hopes of her not finding a reason to imprison another one of them before they made it to safety. They would need to find a solution to this problem, but for the time being, they were exhausted. Once the groups were rested, they would be able to think clearer. They just hoped they could survive long enough. The people of Rhijaj and Xei were not the only ones who did not enjoy sleep. In the giant lands, most of Team Avatar had suffered another restless night. It did not help that their minds were unsettled from the events of the previous evening. In the throne room that morning, the king and queen were discussing plans with one another. As they did, they were being entertained by Naum. He was using airbending to balance goblets and steel platters in the air. Vadim chuckled at the sight, but it did not last for long. He started to yawn and glanced at Tatia. She might have yawned as well if she had been paying attention in the first place.
"Give it a rest, Naum," the king said. "Watching you prepare an invisible meal for equally invisible guests isn't as interesting as our bizarre guests."
The smile the jester wore briefly faltered, but it did not fall. Instead, he set down the floating items on a table.
"I apologize, my lieges. Would you be interested in hearing stories? I know a tale of a ghost that haunts the–"
"We would be interested in learning more about the tiny people," Tatia stated, frowning in thought. "The meeting with the airbending master was slightly unexpected. That bald one…he might be rather powerful. Creative as well. Have you ever thought of balancing on a ball of air?"
"No, Your Highness. The thought has not occurred to me."
Tatia pursed her lips. "How disappointing."
Vadim gave her cheek a kiss. "What if we brought in another master?"
The queen began to smile. "Do you have one in mind? I thought we were undecided on the matter."
"We were, but I was so bored by the ball yesterday that I wanted to wake up even earlier today so that plans could be made. Now, we'll have some fun."
Tatia's eyes twinkled in excitement as Vadim turned to Naum.
"Tell the servants to get Master Anton, then fetch the visitors once he's here."
Obediently, the jester bowed and went to deal with their task. While he did, the friends were still in their room. Toph had been sensing giants going back and forth in front of the door. It was still early, but the Gaang recalled their morning visitors from before. In case this happened again, they prepared for company by bathing sooner. This decision proved wise because Toph sensed another giant shortly after everyone was dressed again.
"Naum is about to come in," she said.
Immediately, Katara frowned, but Aang put a hand on her shoulder.
"There's not too much he could've done yesterday," he said.
The waterbender's expression gradually relaxed and she sighed. "There's always something people can do, but I'll try to not hold it against him."
They both turned to the door as it opened. Naum entered, looking at the group. Sokka offered a grin.
"Ready for some joke trading?"
"No, Their Majesties have summoned you. Another bender is here to test you."
"What type of bending is it this time?" Zuko asked.
"Earthbending." Naum looked at Toph when he heard a laugh. "This wasn't a joke."
"I know it's not supposed to be," the girl admitted.
"You can't try to win," Suki whispered to her. "You saw what they did to Yeva when they thought he ruined their entertainment."
Toph's cocky grin fell and was replaced with a frown. "I've never thrown a fight before."
"Just this once," the warrior requested. "With the master being so big anyway, it's possible…"
Suki dodged a whack from the earthbender. Naum watched them in mild confusion, but he did not ask any questions. He just held out his palms again. Like before, they hopped up so that he could bring them to the throne room. When they arrived, the friends saw a tall man with a haughty expression.
"Anton, you know the visitors from last night," the king said. "I hope you got a good enough look to keep from being surprised, because we want your best today."
"My best is what you shall receive, Your Majesty," the master said, bowing his head.
The queen gestured for Naum to set down the friends. When they were put on the ground, Anton pointed to them.
"Which one am I competing against?"
"Me," Toph told him, stepping forward.
The giant laughed loudly, making the platters on the table rattle.
"I'm going up against you? You're the smallest of them."
Toph frowned. "I could still bury you up to your head in earth."
Suddenly, part of the floor shot up, making the girl airborne. Anton caught her by the back of the shirt.
"Hey!" she protested, kicking.
"Put her down!" her friends shouted.
"I suppose our competition has ended before it's even begun," Anton stated. "Boring, but expected."
The man glanced at the royals, seeing their satisfied faces. He raised up part of the ground, creating a structure similar to a miniature volcano. Anton placed Toph on the top, trapping the girl by the tall edges on every side of her. His smug expression dropped when he fell into the earth. Only the bender's head was visible.
"I did warn you," Toph stated.
Anton frowned and manipulated the earth so that it shot him up into the air. When he landed, Toph kicked chunks of the volcano towards him. This frustrated the master more, so he clenched a hand into a fist. Consequently, he made the earth around Toph move closer together until she could not move at all. When she tried to take control of the earth, Anton prevented this, focusing his attention on the element surrounding her. The giant's power was too much to contend with. Adding a final insult to injury, Anton looked at the metal plates. He kept his right hand focusing on the trap while his left hand formed the plate into a cage. It was placed overtop of the other prison. With the amount of heat coming off of Toph, it nearly would have been believable that she was a firebender.
"The winner is Anton," Tatia said. She regarded him curiously. "Although this took longer than I expected."
"I am sorry to have given you doubts, Your Highness," he said, eyes low.
Vadim shrugged. "At least you still won. If you hadn't, I doubt we'd be having this conversation right now."
"I am grateful for this outcome, Your Majesty."
Vadim scoffed. "You're grateful for your life? How typical. I'd have wanted a more fascinating response." He gestured to the door. "You're dismissed. Clearly, you have nothing more to offer us today besides a close fight."
The master bowed one more time, then loosened the earth around Toph, but he did not remove the cage. Smirking, Anton left the throne room. When he was gone, Toph frowned again and opened up one side of the cage.
"He's not that good!" she huffed. "If we were the same size…"
Toph emphasized her point by making a fist and hurling a chunk of the earth into a wall with a thud. She was so upset that she almost did not notice the feeling of Vadim and Tatia turned to her. Their eyes widened in shock.
"You can metalbend?" Vadim asked, eyes still wide.
"Yeah," the tiny earthbender said. "I invented it where we're from."
Vadim turned to Tatia and they exchanged a look. It seemed like they were communicating silently for several moments. The team was not sure if they were upset, happy, or neither. Finally, the couple spoke again.
"You'll return to your chambers to answer more questions," Tatia said.
Sokka's mouth curved downwards. "What else do we have to be asked about?"
"We have new questions," the king stated. "Besides, the specialists told us that you never got through all their questions the last time."
Already knowing his role, Naum went to pick up the friends. Unhappily, they hopped up and were brought back to the chambers. He did not say anything as he set them upon the bed, then left.
"You know," Sokka said, "for a jester, he's not very fun to be around."
"You probably wouldn't be either if you had to spend all day serving Vadim and Tatia," Zuko pointed out.
"Or if we have to spend all day taking that test," Aang commented miserably. "It'll be the Solstice by the time we're done."
"It shouldn't be that bad," Katara assured him. "It might even help us learn more about Krozhny. We'll see what makes someone smart in their eyes."
This did little to make the boy feel better, but he nodded his head. Aang glanced back up when the scientists came through the door. The Avatar could already see that enormous scroll with questions in one giant's hand.
"The king and queen want to know about specialty bending," one woman said. "What do you have in your world?"
"Along with metalbending, we have lavabending, lightning, sandbending, bloodbending, and flight," Aang revealed. "They're pretty rare, but they exist."
"And earthbending has the most kinds," Toph said boastfully. "Just another reason why it's the best."
Before one of the other benders could argue, a scientist spoke.
"That doesn't make sense," he stated, frowning. "You all said that people who are connected to each element have lived separately. Someone needs to have family members who are fire and earthbenders to execute lavabending. Even if the relation isn't direct, it needs to exist. How would that be possible in your world?"
"Some Avatars of the past have done it." Already seeing the follow-up question in their eyes, the boy continued. "The Avatar can control all four elements."
"Why is that?"
"To make us nonbenders jealous," Sokka joked.
"It's because of a spirit," Aang told them, smiling a little at his friend. "It lets our souls travel into each nation every time we die. That way, there'll always be an Avatar who can be a bridge between the physical and Spirit World."
"We don't have an Avatar," a philosopher stated. "To have a person meant to create balance, it raises interesting questions."
"What if you decided to kill everyone?" an engineer inquired. "You'd be unstoppable."
"No one's really unstoppable," Aang said. "It would be difficult to stop someone like that, but enough people working together could still do it. Luckily, that's never happened before. I hope it never does."
"I definitely would've been dead by now if you were an evil Avatar," Zuko commented, thinking back.
Toph chuckled at the morbid idea. "So, what about people here? Does anyone fly or do sandbending?"
"Some of the nobles do sandbending, but no one flies."
"What about people in the village?" Suki asked.
The warrior was met with silence. Tension was felt in the air. Oone of the giants shook her head.
"It's not allowed. Now, here is that test we had for you before. There is a spot on the page for all of you to write your answers." She reached into her pocket to pull out a pebble. "You can turn this into writing utensils."
Another giant set down a small bowl of ink on the bed. A third specialist spread out the scroll along the length of the comforter. Part of Aang died inside when he heard the end of the scroll hit the ground while he still saw the top by the pillows. Toph broke the pebble into five sections with points. Then she handed one to him and flounced onto a pillow.
"You guys have fun with that."
"You're going to do this too," Zuko told her. "We'll just read it aloud and write down your answers."
Toph's relaxed smile fell. "He turns into the Fire Lord and gets all bossy," she mumbled.
The friends began the test. An hour later, they continued it. Aang felt like he was melting into the scroll and supposed if it would be preferable, since it would finally bring an end to this. Every time he glanced up, he saw the giants with their intent gazes. The boy wondered how they did not find this as mind-numbingly boring as he did. To his surprise, he saw that Katara was looking engaged in the questions. She had made it a lot further than he did. The waterbender had actually made it a lot further than almost everyone, so she was quickly given the duty of writing for Toph. The earthbender seemed like she was half-paying attention to each question. Zuko was just behind Katara in how much he had completed. He looked a little tired of everything, but he was still writing. When Aang tried to peek over his shoulder, he received a frown.
"Maybe I can just use what you put down," the boy whispered.
"You're always trying to cheat off me," Zuko said, moving so that his shoulder blocked his friend's vision.
Aang frowned at him and sighed before returning to writing. He felt some comfort in seeing Suki look as bored as he was. The warrior was rubbing the bridge of her nose and squinting at the giants in frustration every few seconds. Suddenly, Aang's jaw dropped when he saw Sokka lean back on the bed.
"How are you already done?"
"Once you figure out how the questions are worded, it's easy to find a good rhythm for answering them."
"How were they worded?" Aang asked, eyes bright.
Sokka put a hand to his chin. "It's hard to explain."
This caused a groan to escape the airbender. He needed a break from this. A grin began to spread over his face as he thought of an idea.
"These last questions are really tricky," he told the giants. "I don't think I can focus while you're here."
Quickly getting the implication, the group nodded.
"Right, of course. Just let us know when you're done."
One of the giants placed a bell near the scroll. "You can use this to summon us."
"Thanks!" Aang said, grinning.
When the giants left, the Avatar hopped off the bed and went to one of the walls.
"What are you doing?" Katara asked.
She became more surprised when Aang took his writing pebble to begin chipping away at a spot on the wall.
"On the other side of this room, there's the entrance to the palace," he said.
Toph nodded. "You're right. I've felt a bunch of giants walking around over there too, but what's that supposed to mean?"
"We can explore more of Krozhny."
"Shouldn't we get Yeva for that?" Suki asked.
"He's not in the castle," Toph stated. "He hasn't been for most of the day."
"So, we should go on our own," Aang suggested. "At least now, we won't be surprised by there being giants. We can try to find Masha and her parents."
The earthbender grinned deviously. "Sneaking out right under Queen Mean and King Cruel's giant noses? Count me in."
Sokka shrugged. "Guess it would be more interesting than watching all of you finish the test."
"I'd rather be anywhere but here," Suki said, flicking out her right wrist, which had become sore from writing.
Zuko looked at the fifty or so questions he had remaining. "I wouldn't mind a quick break."
Soon, Katara was the only member of Team Avatar who had not moved away from the scroll. She gestured towards the test.
"Come on, you guys. We're almost done…kind of. I bet that in another half hour, we will be."
Katara noticed the silence and looked at the others, who were already beginning to help Aang make a tiny hole in the wall. The waterbender sighed and slid down the bed's blankets to join them. It did not take long before a hole just big enough for them to escape through had been created. The Team went out, then Toph used earthbending to cover it up in case anyone entered.
"What if they come back before the test is over?" Suki asked.
"They'll probably wait until they hear that bell ring," Sokka said. "I don't think they'd want to risk doing anything that could mess up the answers."
Feeling more certain, Suki continued going with the others. Some giants were mostly standing guard for the palace, but there were not too many of them. Toph made a tunnel into the ground, and the team began traveling beneath the subjects. She led the way and hesitated for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Sokka asked.
"I thought I heard Yeva. He sounded…not really angry, but he was yelling."
"Maybe he was trying to make sure someone could hear him," Katara offered.
"It's a little hard to make out exactly what he's saying, but he's with a lot of people, so you could be right."
"We might be able to ask him about it later," Zuko suggested.
Toph nodded and continued to push forward until she stopped again. She moved the earth above them so that it shifted to either side, allowing them to climb to the surface. There was a yelp, then a sigh. Levka was in the kitchen of her home and had been preparing a meal.
"Someone could get hurt by falling into that," she said, fixing the ground once the Gaang was out. "What are you doing here again?"
"We wanted to visit," Aang said.
"And certainly aren't doing so with the king and queen's permission."
The friends got quiet and Levka started to frown.
"Well, you won't be staying. If someone finds you, they'll think that we were part of some abduction or abetted you."
"We aren't criminals," Katara said.
"But you did break into our home. Besides, you're prisoners all the same. I thought that would've been clear from the Full Moon celebration."
"A lot became clear," Zuko admitted. "Have they always been like that?"
"For as long as I can remember."
"Has anyone tried to stop them?" Suki inquired.
"I don't have time to answer all your questions. You need to go back. I shouldn't have closed up your tunnel or whatever that was."
Levka moved the ground so that it would be a tunnel again. She stopped when she heard a happy squeal. Masha was running into the room and waved at the friends.
"You came back! I was hoping I'd see you again."
"They won't be staying," Levka said. "They need to get back to the palace."
"Aw! Can't they stay for just a few minutes? Please?"
The mother saw the hopeful look in the girl's eyes. It was difficult to crush that.
"I can even show them my lavabending!"
Immediately, Levka's eyes widened and she hurriedly checked the front of the home to be sure that the door had been closed. Seeing that it was, she returned to her daughter and held the girl's shoulders.
"You can't say things like that so carelessly."
Masha's eyes widened in remembrance. "I forgot. I'm sorry."
Levka tensely regarded the group. Before she could say anything, the door opened.
"I brought some more of the beets," Alexei said, calling to his family.
He was surprised by the silence he heard, so he checked the kitchen. When the father saw the friends, he offered a smile. It did not last long when he saw the look on his wife's face.
"They know about both of our abilities," she said.
Understanding, the man's face paled.
"We won't tell anyone," Aang promised. "We were talking with some of the scientists and other specialists in the palace. It's dangerous to have a unique kind of bending in the village, isn't it?"
Slowly, Alexei nodded. "It's not allowed for someone without noble blood to have specialty bending. That's why we need to stay so cautious. It runs in the family."
"You also have another kind?" Toph asked.
"Yes, I'm a sandbender."
Zuko started to frown. "How isn't it allowed to have another kind of bending?"
"It's dangerous," Levka informed him. "A specialty bender can control their element in more ways than what's natural for someone of…improper background," she said this part with spite in her voice.
Alexei put a hand on her shoulder. "In the past, these benders have been executed to prevent them from leading revolts. People follow those who they believe are strong, so the king and queen only want the strongest to be loyal to them. They doubt that people in the village are."
"After seeing that party, I doubt if the nobles are loyal either," Toph said. "Tatia and Vadim were jerks to them too."
"Most likely, but it's once a month. For the other days, the nobles are treated with respect," Levka said. "We never get that. One day of disrespect would be nothing to endure in comparison. We can't even buy supplies that other merchants bring to be sold off. If we want something, we must make or grow it for ourselves."
"Well, what do you do with the money you make?" Sokka asked.
Levka scoffed. "What money? That's how we pay them. Those nobles who turn their noses up at us receive all the benefits from our work."
"What are you paying them for?"
"The work they do in the military," Alexei revealed. "Villagers are deemed too weak to be useful in war, but it doesn't take much skill to be a distraction. We pay them to prevent any of us from being sent to the front lines of battle."
"That's terrible!" Katara exclaimed, shocked.
"It is, but you get used to it," the father said.
"You might," Levka mumbled.
The farmer frowned at her. Masha unhappily looked between the two, then back at the friends.
"But now that you're here, maybe things will change. You're magic, aren't you?"
"We're not magic," Sokka said, "but we do plan on helping."
This made the girl smile happily. "I knew it!"
Levka shook her head. "You shouldn't give her false hopes. There's nothing you can do."
"Don't count us out just yet," Toph advised. "We haven't figured it out yet, but we'll come up with a way to fix things here."
The mother still looked doubtful. She gestured to the floor.
"I won't argue with you, but I will ask again that you leave before someone notices your absence and our involvement in that."
Levka opened up the ground again and glanced at it impatiently. Alexei looked like he wanted to let the friends remain there for more time, but he did not say anything.
"Maybe you can stay longer next time if you tell the king and queen first," Masha offered.
The friends nodded.
"Goodbye for now," Aang said, waving.
Team Avatar hopped back into the tunnel and made their way back to the castle. After another hour, they had all finished the test. Aang nearly passed out, so Katara was the one to ring the bell. Attentively, the specialists returned and collected the scroll.
"We've been asked to give these to you."
One of the giants placed several items onto the bed. Going over them, the friends realized that they were tiny outfits. Sokka held up a brightly colored hat.
"Um, not saying we don't appreciate the change of clothes, but we'll probably just keep washing and using what we already have."
"No, these aren't to wear throughout the palace."
Zuko's eyebrow lifted. "Then why are you giving them to us?"
"Because they're for you to wear while you're entertaining His and Her Highnesses. Please, dress quickly. They would like you to begin as soon as possible. We'll leave you so that you can do this. Ring the bell again when you're done."
The giants turned and exited the room, leaving the friends in a state of shock. Their minds could not help but return to the celebration. If that was how the king and queen treated those who sought to provide them with entertainment, the team felt a strong note of dread in their stomachs.