Ki's life had been complicated.
Given up to a girls home at only one years old, she spent the past nineteen years growing up at a lodging house in Republic City without parents.
After the Earth Queen's untimely death, Ba Sing Se is left in chaos- lo...
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Ki bowed her head, nuanced with the feelings of anxiety as she stepped out of the Sato-Mobile. A summer breeze whispered in her ear, allowing a break from the blaring sun.
Quick on her feet, Lin led the way to a large building— so pompous that Ki was afraid to step foot inside. "The Four Elements?" She asked Chief Beifong, running to keep up with her swift pace. "What am I doing here?"
A bellhop jumped up, propping the door of the exquisite hotel ajar and smiling at the two ladies who entered. "We haven't got time for small chat," Chief Beifong says, taking a strong grasp around the girl's arm. "This is where you'll be staying until Ba Sing Se is deemed safe for you to return. Now, let's hurry it up."
Ki watched as the elevator door's made their slow movement, finally closing. She could see her reflection in the shining gold, looking past all the distortion, she had felt a little bit of longing grow.
She was, in a way, longing for who she was before whatshebecame today.
"When we get upstairs, your handmaiden will prep you for your appearance this afternoon," Lin stated, staring straight forward. "She knows the urgency, so do you best to comply so this can go as smoothly as possible."
Giving a single nod, Ki sucked in a breath as her mind begged her to make a run for it. To reverse all this work being done in a instant, so she could go back to the safety of before.
But, like her feet were cemented, she just couldn't. What good would it be throwing away the hard work these officers had put in, the past three years, just to find her.
The efforts taken for her weak hands would not be wasted like that. She would try to honor them with her will and resolve.
Delicate curtains danced with the wind blowing through an open window, and three women hummed a tune so sweet— prepping delicate tortoise shell combs and other royal jewels.
Ki hesitated before stepping foot in her hotel room, clearing her throat to catch the attention of the working ladies. Suddenly, they all turned to her with uncertainty, then bowed in her presence.
"Uh... hi," she started slowly, "I'm Ki."
The eldest woman scowled at the girl, "your royal highness," she almost spit out the greeting. "What are you wearing?"
Glancing down at her scroungy clothing, she rubbed her forehead in disparity, convincing herself that she could have dressed worse. "Have her bathed and primped," she ordered a girl, who looked only a few years younger than the new royalty. "Princess Ki must impress the public today."
The girl summoned her to the bathtub, already filled with soapy hot water, and started pulling at her shirt. Ki jumped back, "hey!" She exclaimed, feeling rather violated.
