Havi of the Earth Kingdom

Chapter 39: City of Walls and Secrets

Finally!! The first real chapter in Ba Sing Se! I feel like it's taken forever to get here but I'm excited.

Havi's pov

We were finally on our way into the city via their bus system. After the long day, I was slowly dozing off on Sokka's shoulder when Katara shouts, "Look, the inner wall! I can't believe we finally made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece."

"Hey, don't jinx it," Sokka leaned forward making me fall over, "Gah, sorry! We could still be attacked by some giant, exploding fire nation spoon, or find out the city's been submerged in an ocean full of killer shrimp."

"You been hitting the cactus juice again?" Toph asks.

I play along, "He's probably an addict at this point."

"I'm just saying, weird stuff happens to us," he defends.

Out of no where, a man sucking on corn scoots his way between Sokka and Toph. Where did he even come from?? "I-," I blink slowly, "I see your point."

"Don't worry, Aang. We'll find Appa," Katara consoles the airbender.

He sighs, "It's such a big city."

Sokka and I walk over to them, "He's a giant bison. Where could someone possibly hide him?" I look out the window and gape at the sheer size of this place. Houses and buildings were back to back and everything looked cramped, "oh."

The bus stops when we reach the station. As we exit, Toph scoffs, "back in the city. Great."

"What's the problem?" I ask her, "it's amazing."

"Just a bunch of walls and rules. You wait, you'll get sick of it in a couple of days."

A lady with a cheesy smile walks towards us, "Hello. My name is Joo Dee. I have been given the great honor of showing the avatar around Ba Sing Se, and you must be Sokka, Havi, Katara and Toph. Welcome to our wonderful city. Shall we get started?"

"Yes," Sokka answers, "we have information about the fire nation army that we need to deliver to the earth king immediately."

Joo Dee is quick to brush him off, "Great, let's begin our tour and then I'll show you to your new home here. I think you'll like it."

Sokka makes a frustrated face, "maybe you missed what I said. We need to talk to the king about the war, it's important."

"You're in Ba Sing Se, now. Everyone is safe here." A dark feeling hangs over my body again. Something's off about this girl.

• • •

"This is the lower ring," Joo Dee was taking us in a carriage for a tour of Ba Sing Se.

"What's that wall for?" I ask while pointing at the structure.

"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls," She explains, "there are the ones outside, protesting us, and we have ones inside that help maintain order. This is where our newest arrivals live, as well as our craftsman and artisans, people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively." She couldn't be more wrong. Everyone here looked downcast and poor. While passing by, I make eye contact with a man holding a sword and burry myself into Sokka's arm, "you do want to watch your step, though."

"Why do they have all these poor people blocked off in one part of the city?" Katara questions.

Aang speaks up, "this is why I never came here before. I always heard it was so different from the way the monks taught us to live."