The Traitor Princess

Chapter 37 - The Desert

"Toph, where's Appa?" Aang asked, more urgently this time. Toph still didn't respond.

"Wait, where's Eziri?" Sokka asked as he looked around.

"She...they..." Toph stuttered out, still shaken from the recent ambush. "There...there were sandbenders. They took Appa."

"What?! How could you let them take Appa? Why didn't you stop them?!" Aang shouted angrily.

"I couldn't! The library was sinking! Eziri said she would hold them off and you guys were still inside so–"

"You could've come to get us. I could've saved him!"

"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here. I couldn't tell where they were and–"

"You just didn't care! You never–"

"Where is Eziri?!" Sokka cut off Aang's rant. So far Toph wasn't making any sense and she hadn't answered his original question.

"I...I don't know! She was fighting and then I heard her scream and....I don't know!"

"Did they take her too!?"

"I...I don't...."

"Toph, breathe." Katara said calmly. "Try to remember. Can you tell where she went?"

Toph shut her eyes and focused as hard as she could. She remembered the sounds of the sandbending and Eziri's firebending. She heard Eziri's shout and then a rush of sand. She didn't hear Eziri's voice or any fire after that.

"N-no...I don't think they took her. I think she's buried somewhere!" Toph stood up quickly and tried to feel the area around her.

Sokka and Katara started looking around. Sokka noticed a nearby dune that was larger than all the others. He squinted his eyes and saw the sand move slightly from the center.

"Over here!" He shouted. He ran over to the dune, with his friends right behind. Aang swept his staff forward and pushed the pile of sand away with a gust of air. When the sand cleared, they saw Eziri hunched over, struggling to breathe.

Sokka ran over and knelt down in front of her. "Eziri? Are you ok?" She coughed out and sputtered bits of sand. Her throat felt like it was made of razor blades and she felt as though there were grains of sand covering every inch of her skin. The second she was buried she thought she was going to die. It was pitch black and she felt pressure weighing her down from every direction. She'd never felt so terrified in her entire life.

"And you! Why didn't you stop them!? You're supposed to be a master firebender! How could you let them take Appa?!" Aang shouted at Eziri. She was still struggling to rid her lungs of sand and process the fact that she wasn't buried alive. Sokka moved himself between Eziri and Aang, shielding her from view.

"Aang, stop it.You know Toph and Eziri did all they could. They saved our lives." Katara cut in.

"Who's going to save our lives now? We'll never make it out of here." Sokka said worriedly. He helped Eziri to her feet. She was still too focused on expelling the sand from her body to hear the conversation.

"That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves! You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!"

"We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now."

"I'm going after Appa." Aang opened his glider and flew off.

"Aang, wait!"

Eziri let out another loud cough and stumbled a bit.

"What can I do? How can I help?" Sokka asked as he held Eziri steady. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was still raw. She had yet to open her eyes, and she was partially afraid she would see nothing but sand if she did. She started patting around her hip, searching for her waterskin. Sokka noticed the action and untied it. He handed her the container.