The Traitor Princess

Chapter 38 - The Serpent's Pass

Eziri kicked her feet and swam under water. It felt good to finally swim again. She crept below the surface and over to where Toph sat. The earthbender was perched on a rock with her feet in the water. Eziri swam towards the surface but kept her presence unknown. She reached out, grabbed Toph's ankles, and lightly tugged in one quick motion. Toph shrieked and ripped her legs out of the water.

Eziri surfaced and started laughing.

"Keep laughing, inferno! I'll remember that."

Eziri laughed louder. "Oh man–" She laughed again. "That scream was perfect." Toph bent a small rock into her hand and held it up. Eziri widened her eyes and dipped below the surface as Toph threw the rock. Luckily, the rock splashed a couple feet behind Eziri. She resurfaced again and laughed. "Lighten up, Toph." Toph just huffed and flopped back onto the ground. This time, she kept her feet crossed beneath her–out of the water.

"Waterbending bomb!" Katara shouted from the top of the waterfall. She jumped off the cliff and into the water. Her splash sent Aang and Eziri flying out of the water. It also left Toph and Sokka soaked by the water's edge.

"Sure, five thousand year-old maps from the spirit library. Just splash some water on 'em." Sokka said sarcastically.

"Sorry." Katara came out of the water and rung out her hair. She then used her bending to pull the water out of Sokka's map.

"So, did you figure out what route we're going to take?" Aang asked as he and Eziri rejoined the group. Eziri nudged Katara's shoulder with her own and stuck her tongue out at the waterbender. Katara just smirked and nudged Eziri back.

"Okay, we just got out of the desert, so we must be around here." Sokka pointed to a location on the map. "And we need to go to Ba Sing Se, which is here." He moved his finger along the parchment to a new location. "It looks like the only passage connecting the south to the north is this sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass."

"Well that doesn't sound ominous at all." Eziri deadpanned.

"You sure that's the best way to go?" asked Toph.

"It's the only way. I mean, it's not like we have Appa to fly us there." Katara inched closer to her brother and said something in a hushed tone.

"Katara, it's okay. I know I was upset about losing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se and telling the Earth king about the solar eclipse." Aang interjected.

"Oh...well, okay. I'm glad you're doing better." Katara said, slightly surprised.

"Then to Ba Sing Se we go." Sokka started to roll up the maps. "No more distractions." Just then, three people approached.

"Ooh, look. A distraction." Eziri teased. Sokka gave her an annoyed look.

"Hello there, fellow refugees!" The man in the group called out.

"So, you guys are headed to Ba Sing Se, too?" Aang asked.

"Sure are. We're trying to get there before my wife Ying has her baby." The man gestured to his very pregnant wife.

"Great! We can travel through the Serpent's Pass together." Katara said cheerfully. All three refugees gasped.

"The Serpent's Pass? Only the truly desperate take that deadly route!" Ying warned.

"Deadly route." Toph punched Sokka's arm. Eziri stifled a laugh. "Great pick, Sokka!"

"Well, we are desperate."

"We literally just finished a deadly route. Can we not go from the desert to some deadly pass?" Eziri asked, slightly nervous about Sokka's suggestion.

"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay. Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."