Chosen by the Spirits | A male reader x Avatar the Last Airbender story

Chapter 24- City of Walls and Secrets

"Yes, we have information about the fire nation army that we need to deliver to the Earth King immediately," Sokka was straight to the point, though the lady ignored him.

"Great, let's begin our tour," she beamed happily. "And then I'll show you to your new home here. I think you'll like it," she continued as she walked off, expecting us to follow her. But Sokka had other plans.

"Maybe you missed what I said. We need to talk to the King about the war. It's important," he explained.

"You're in Ba Sing Se now. Everyone is safe here," Joo Dee told us joyfully.

The tour was rather interesting. We were transported in a carriage with a green curtain that was pulled by an ostrich horse. First, we were shown the lower ring of Ba Sing Se. It was a rather grim sight, and looked to be filled with just refugees and criminals. Even the forever positive Joo Dee seemed to insinuate that it was a bit dodgy. Next, we were shown the middle ring, where most shops and restaurants were located. It was certainly more pleasing on the eyes than the lower ring, detailed with aesthetic cobblestone, greenery and a beautiful river. Finally, we were taken to the upper ring of the city. It was stunning and surrounded by nature. There weren't as many building as the other two rings, but the buildings that were present were huge, gorgeous mansions. Eventually, towards the end of the tour, we passed by a huge light brown palace, plastered with green and yellow earth kingdom symbols. Surrounding the huge mansion were many men, dressed in dark green robes and with pointed green hats on. They kept a beady eye on us as we passed by. Joo Dee informed us that this was the royal palace, where the Earth King lived, and that the strange men who were guarding it were called the Dai Li; the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. Finally, we reached a decently sized white building with a cultural yellowish roof.

"Here we are, your new home," Joo Dee claimed as we exited the carriage and stood on the stairway towards the house. Then, just as we were about to enter the building, a man dressed in a basic green robe ran up to Joo Dee and bowed, presenting her with a scroll. The positive tour guide opened up the scroll and beamed at us. "More good news: your request for an audience with the Earth King is being processed, and should be put through in about a month,"

"A month??" Sokka exclaimed in disbelief. I was also aghast; we were only supposed to be in Ba Sing Se until we found Appa!

"Six to eight weeks, actually!" Joo Dee corrected him, as if it were supposed to be a good thing. I considered myself something of an optimist, but even I was starting to get frustrated with the overly positive woman.

"Hold on, I thought you said that the Earth King was excited to meet the Prodigy of the North?" I asked uncomfortably. I hated bringing attention to myself, but if it meant that we were more likely to visited the King sooner, than I was willing to do it.

"Yes, the Earth King is very excited about the arrival of the Avatar and the prodigy of the North," Joo Dee told us with her annoying smile.

"Well, we're here now," I told her. "So why can't we meet the king as soon as possible?"

"The Earth King is very busy running the finest city in the world. But he will see you as soon as time permits," Joo Dee explained. "Now, let me show you the inside of your house,". We entered the house, which was very nice to be fair. It was very spacious, lit by green lanterns that hung from the ceiling, and decorated with a plethora of vases and paintings. The house had many windows that allowed the sun to light up the room. We all also had our own personal bedrooms, which was nice. After two months of constantly resting in a sleeping bag, I knew that it would feel great to be able to sleep in a comfy bed for once.

"If we're going to be here for a month, we should spend our time looking for Appa," Aang stated as he stared out of an open window into the beautiful blue sky.