Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

15

"Everything is taken care of." Uncle spoke calmly and bowed to his friend. He turned around and smiled at the two teenagers under his care.

"We're heading to Ba Sing Se." He announced and Keya jumped up, her sleepiness instantly forgotten.

"Great! I was worried how I was going to get there with that bounty on my back. This takes care of it!" She smiled brightly and walked over to the man who'd helped them arrange the trip (thank goodness not all of Iroh's friends were weapon-specialist bounty hunters!). She bowed respectfully with her hands together and her eyes closed to express her gratitude. "Thank you so much for your help, sir."

Zuko scoffed and rolled his golden eyes. What was she being so grateful for? They weren't even there yet.

"Ba Sing Se?" He asked with his hands held up in surprise. "Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital? I understand why Keya's going -she's one of them, but we're not exactly welcome out there."

"The city is filled with refugees." Iroh explained. "No one will notice a few more. Your friend had the right idea of going there in the first place." At his mention of her, all the men in the room shifted their attention to the shy Earth Kingdom girl. A slender, brown hand went up to her cheeks as she tried to hide what felt like a blush.

"I-I didn't exactly think of it myself." Keya disclaimed. "My family told me it's the safest city in the whole Earth Kingdom. They pointed me that way."

At the mention of her family, Zuko was reminded of the name she had called: Lei. Was he one of her brothers that she had mentioned? Or... did she have a boyfriend? Not that it was any of his business, of course. And why wouldn't she? She was rather pretty, especially for a simple peasant (but not pretty enough to tempt him, obviously). The 'wanted' poster he saw yesterday with her face on it -that in no way captured her features accurately- only reminded the scarred teen just how pretty she was in real life- for a peasant, that is.

The thought of the girl being taken made him feel a bit awkward for some reason. It made his stomach feel nauseated, his face flush, and his hands tingle desperately, as if pleading to let them bend their natural element. The whole thing felt odd. Let's not think about that right now, though. He scolded his own mind. It wouldn't matter to him either way, so it was better to stop thinking about silly things when there were more pressing matters at hand. Still, some tiny voice in his mind voiced a hope that 'Lei' was her brother.

"Your family made a wise decision for you, Miss Keya. We can all hide in plain sight there and it's the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation! I couldn't even break through to the city." Iroh's boisterous laugh brought Zuko back to the conversation.

The fact that his old uncle had once tried to invade Ba Sing Se was nothing new to the Fire Nation Prince. However, his Earth Kingdom friend was quite surprised. He tried to get in? Was this related to his royal status? Keya thought to herself. She was about to ask him, when the shop's door slammed open.

A boy around her age suddenly entered the shop. His tanned skin was glistening with sweat. His mouth hung open slightly, soft pants leaving from his parted lips as he regained his breath. His hazel eyes were wide with worry and haste. The intense expression on his face (and his rather sudden entrance) made everyone in the shop hold their breath for bad news.

"I've got the passports for our guests. But," he gasped, "there are two men out on the street, looking for them."

It was the two bounty hunters. The boulder look-alike and the skinny fellow. The grownups immediately started discussing how to solve their situation. In the meantime, Keya helped the new boy inside and observed the passport with her name on it. Her soft fingers brushed his when he held her passport out for her to take. He blushed and smiled shyly when he felt it, looking up into her grey eyes. She didn't seem to notice. The girl just gave him an innocent, unassuming smile in return. Zuko noticed and frowned at him. What was he playing at? He scoffed to himself and crossed his arms, looking away from the scene.