Chapter 28- This City Is Very Creepy
Waking up by the sound of Katara going outside, you rubbed your eyes as Katara ran back inside holding some mail.
"I got it! I know how we're going to see the Earth King!" She said excitedly.
"How are we supposed to do that? "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King!"," Toph mocked Joo Dee.
"The king is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear," She explained looking at some papers.
"You mean, platypus bear?" Aang asked.
"No, it just says 'bear'," Katara shook her head.
"Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear," Sokka raised an eyebrow.
"Or his armadillo bear," Toph suggested
"Gopher bear?" You guessed.
"Just... bear," Katara said and the house was silent for a second.
"This place is weird," Toph finally said.
"The palace will be packed. We can sneak in with the crowd!" Katara grinned.
"Won't work," Toph shook her head.
"Why not?" you asked.
"Well, no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd will spot you a mile away. You've got no manners," She shrugged while eating some cake.
"Excuse me? I've got no manners? You're not exactly "lady fancy fingers!"," Katara glared at Toph, who burped.
"I learned proper society behavior and chose to leave it. You never learned anything. And frankly, it's a little too late," She explained and laid next to you.
"Aha, but you learned it! You could teach us!" Sokka suddenly yelled.
"Yeah, I'm mastering every element. How hard could manners be?" Aang stood and and wrapped a curtain around him.
"Good evening, Mr. Sokka Water Tribe, Ms. Katara Water Tribe, Ms (Y/N) Earth Kingdom, Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty. Your Momo-ness," He said in a fancy voice.
"Avatar Aang, how do you do? Go on," Sokka piped in while wrapped in a curtain too and bowed, before the two of them baking and hitting their head against each other.
"Katara and Loud Mouth might be able to pull it off, but you two would be lucky to pass as busboys!" Toph shrugged as Sokka rubbed his head.
"But I feel so fancy!"
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"I hate this plan, the makeup is heavy and the dress weighs me down," You grumbled while pulling your dress in embarrassment.
"You look beautiful (Y/N)," Katara smiled, placing makeup on your face and blushing slightly as Toph slapped your back.
"Don't let insecurity get to you now Loud Mouth, you're hot either way," She smirked, which made you blush. You three opened the door and showed the boys your outfits.
"Woah..." Sokka breathed out.
"You look beautiful," Aang blushed, and Sokka noticed his gaze at you, making him flick the Avatar's forehead.
"Don't talk to the commoners, you two. First rule of society," Toph raised her fan up to you, making you three walk out the door.
"We'll get in the party, and then find a way to let you in through the side gate," Katara told the boys as you winked at them.
"See ya later Busboys," You waved them off and you three walked through the streets and up to the palace walls, where a guard stood at the entrance.
"Invitation please," He said and Toph held out her Beifong golden seal.
"I think this will do," Toph said, but the guard shook his head.
"No entry without an invitation. Step out of line, please," He huffed out.
"Look, the Pangs and the Yum Soon Hans are waiting in there for us! I'm going to have to tell them who didn't let me in," Toph glared, but the guard stood tall.
"Step out of line please," You three walked out of line, but Katara motioned you to a man.
"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but my cousin lost our invitations," Katara told the man, and you quickly picked up the situation.
"She's blind," You whispered to him.
"Do you think you could help us? Our family's inside and I'm sure they're very worried," Katara said, and the man smiled and bowed.
"I am honored, please come with me," He said, and got passed the guard, making you turn and stick your tongue out at him. Inside the palace, it was too fancy for you as you saw the king's bear eating a big feast.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? By the way, I'm Long Feng. I'm a cultural minister to the king," The man told you three.
"I'm Kwa Mai, and this is... Dum," You held your laugh as Toph pulled Katara's braid.
"Ow!" She hissed and motioned to you.
"And this is-"
"Opal, my name is Opal," You smiled.
"Lovely names," Long Feng told you.
"Opal was my grandma's name," You shrugged.
"Now where is your family? I'd love to meet them," Long Feng offered, and Katara started to stammer.
"Uh ... I don't see them right now, but I'm sure we'll find them soon. Thanks for all your help," She pushed you two away and started to walk, but Feng shows up out of nowhere in front of you.
"Don't worry, as your escort it would be dishonorable to abandon you ladies without finding your family first. We'll keep looking," He persisted, making you bow and followed to keep your cover.
"... Katara," The waterbender jumped slightly as you saying her actual name and turn to you.
"What is it?" A small pit in your stomach turned as you took a deep breath.
"I want to talk about what happened at the Earth Kingdom base, when you k-" Just then Toph started to talk to a servant, who turns out to be Sokka and Aang.
"Thanks for letting us in!" Sokka scolded you three, making you pause on your confrontation.
"Sorry, but the guy who escorted us in won't let us out of his sight!" Katara said, but then you felt another chill through your spine.
"What guy?" Sokka asked, and you all turned to see that Long Feng was gone.
Then, Joo Dee showed up a little surprised and panicked.
"What are you doing here? You have to leave immediately, or we will be in terrible trouble!" Joo Dee tried to push Sokka, but he didn't budge.
"Not until we see the king," He argued.
"You don't understand. You must go," She strained a smile and pushed him again, causing him to bump into Aang and spilled tea on a woman. Aang apologized and used his bending to dry her.
She exclaimed that he was the Avatar and everyone started to talk, and you noticed Joo Dee's smile turn into a frown. You didn't feel right as Sokka made Aang distract the people as you all started to try and find the earth king.
"One thing for sure, you look amazing, dress or no dress," You heard Sokka said and you turn to see him grinning at you.
"I must say you you look cute in that outfit," You winked and you separated to search further, but then you felt gloves cover your mouth and pull you out of the party room. You tried to escape, but then you were shoved into a room with your Gaang.
"(Y/N)!" Katara said as you were pushed into their arms; the gloves letting you go.
Long Feng stood in front of you all, and you warily watched him.
"Why won't you let us talk to the king? We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!" Sokka demanded with a glare.
"The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day to day minutia of military activities," Long Feng explained.
"This could be the most important thing he's ever heard," Aang pleaded.
"What's most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military," You didn't like the way he explained it.
"So the king is just a figurehead," Katara realized.
"He's your puppet!" Toph said angrily.
'I bet he doesn't even know there's a war,' You hissed in your thoughts.
"Oh, no, no. His Majesty is an icon, a god to his people. He can't sully his hands with the hourly change of an endless war," Long Feng smiled.
"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless. You could lead an invasion-" Sokka was cut off.
"Enough! I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan. It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the War not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war will throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic," The room suddenly felt off, and you rubbed your arms.
"Our economy would be ruined, our peaceful way of life – our traditions – would disappear," Long Feng explained.
"In silencing talk of conflict, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia: the last one on Earth,"
"You can't keep the truth from all these people. They have to know," Katara pleaded.
"I'll tell them! I'll make sure everyone knows!" Aang declared with anger.
"Until now, you've been treated as our honored guest. But from now on, you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents. If you mention the War to anyone, you will be expelled from the city," Long Feng glared as you felt another chill.
"I understand you've been looking for your bison and tiger monkey. It would be quite a shame if you were not able to complete your quest. Now, Joo Dee will show you to your home," A woman walked inside the room, but you instantly know that was not Joo Dee
"Come with me, please," The new Joo Dee smiled.
"What happened to our Joo Dee?" You asked, now feeling uneasy.
"I'm Joo Dee. I'll be your host as long as you're in our wonderful city,"
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AAAAAAHHH I FORGOT TO ADD THIS FANART UP!!
Stay healthy and stay tune!