Havi of the Earth Kingdom

Chapter 2: Imprisoned

"Hey, Havi." I look up to Sokka when he spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" He stands up and walks over to sit next to me.

"Is it that obvious I'm upset?"

"A little bit," he grabs my hand to keep it from fidgeting and I glance to them , "I just want you to know that my offer still stands. You can still talk to me." I sigh and look Sokka in his eyes. His blue eyes. My face heats up slightly and I feel very grateful for the darkness that covers it up.

"The thing is," I start and look down again, "I could've stopped this. I'm the one who told him to answer the door. If I wasn't being so lazy and done it instead then I could've lied. I could've helped him. I mean, I'm his big sister. I'm supposed to protect him not send him off with the enemy," Sokka gives my hand a little squeeze so I look back up at him, "I practically served those soldiers Haru on a platter. This is my fault he's here."

"This isn't your fault," I remove my hand from Sokka's to cross my arms, "you couldn't have known this would happen."

"But I still could've stopped it," he opened his mouth to say something but we were cut off by Aang and Katara returning.

"Your 12 hours are up. Where's Haru, we've got to get out of here."

"I can't," Katara says, "I'm not leaving. I'm not giving up on these people."

We all get on the prison ledge and Sokka asks, "what do you mean you're not leaving?"

"We can't abandon these people. There has to be a way to help them."

"I second that" I interrupt.

"Maybe she's right," Aang agreed as well, "what do you say, Sokka?"

"I say you're all crazy." I hit him on the arm in offense, "last chance, we need to leave now."

"No," katara and I say together.

"I hate when you get like this. Come on we better hide." We all run off together.

• • •

After finding a hiding place behind some boxes we talk out a plan, "we don't have much time. What are we gonna do?"

Aang sighs, "I wish I knew how to make a hurricane."

We all look at him with annoyed faces and I said, "Next time, don't bring it up unless it's possible, Okay?"

"I'm just tossing ideas around."

"I tried talking the earthbenders into fighting back but it didn't work. If there was just a way to help them help themselves," Katara explains.

"For that they'd need some kind of earth or some rock. Something they can bend."

"But this entire place is made of metal" She grumbles.

I point up, "no it's not. Look at the smoke. I bet they're burning coal. In other words, earth"

As the sun starts to come up we put our plan into action. "It's almost dawn," katara says, "we're running out of time. You sure this is gonna work?"

"It should" Sokka whispers back, "these vents reminded me of our little trick back at the village. We're gonna do the same thing but in a much bigger scale. There's a huge deposit of coal at the base of this island and the whole system is ventilated. Aang closed off all the vents except one. When he does his airbending the coal only has one place to go— right back here."

Right as Sokka finished explaining the plan a guard yelled, "there's the intruders!" We were surrounded by soldiers with spears.

"Stay back, I'm warning you!"