❃ Left Behind ❃
And so it happened that Keya joined Zuko and Iroh for their trip to the palace in order to serve tea to His Majesty the Earth King. Never had anyone in her family been blessed with such a prestige as today's events. Keya was sure that it would help to grow Iroh's business even more!
She observed the palace with awe as the official palace carriage brought them to its front gates. The building itself was larger than life, with red clay walls and Earth Kingdom insignia carved into every possible crevice. The palace's roof was covered with bright, emerald green tiles that curved up towards the heavens at the tips. Large, tan columns held the structure up. No coins had been spared in the creation of this extravagant palace, that much was clear. The palace was the ultimate symbol of power and prestige.
The carriage that had picked them up came to a creaky stop right in front of the long stairway up to the palace entrance. Zuko was the first to jump out of the wooden cart. He quickly held the door open for his uncle as the man carefully stepped out with his equipment. Iroh held his portable tea set gently between his hands and waited for Keya to get out.
Keya grumbled softly while she tried to exit the carriage with as much grace and poise as she could. However, the poor girl wasn't used to the elite Ba Sing Se fashion that she was forced into that morning. The flowery decorative jewelry in her hair was particularly difficult to navigate a carriage with. Her small hand instantly found Zuko's warm, large fingers when she made her way down the cart's steps. With a small hop, she closed the rest of the distance between her feet and the palace tiles. Zuko moved his hand down to rest against the small of her back and nodded to the carriage driver, who promptly clicked his tongue and forced his ostrich horse to walk again.
"Many times, I imagined myself here at the threshold of the palace." Iroh spoke up as the trio walked up the palace steps. "But I always thought that I would be here as a conqueror. Instead, we are the Earth King's personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing."
"It sure is, uncle." Zuko smiled softly.
"So it is." Keya agreed with a giggle.
Once they passed through the gates and entered the palace, the three tea servers were formally welcomed in the large home. A stoic member of staff led them to the Earth King's official tea room. Here they were told to wait and prepare for their service. So they did.
Iroh got started with preparing his tea, while Keya unpacked the pastries and laid them out neatly on a beautiful tray. Zuko prepared the cups, plates, and utensils in the meantime. Soon, they were ready to serve.
Iroh's arms moved graciously as he carefully poured a cup for the King. Said man had yet to arrive, but Iroh had insisted that pouring the cup now would create an inviting scent for when the monarch actually made his way to the tea room. It didn't take long for the smell of jasmine tea to make its way through the area.
Time ticked on as the three servers waited patiently for the King. Slowly but surely, the tea that Iroh had poured started to cool off. It was now at the perfect drinking temperature, but nobody had arrived to drink it yet.
"What's taking so long?" Zuko grumbled.
Keya softly nudged him in the side with her elbow. "Shhh, do you want him to think we're rude? I'm sure he's on his way."
"Maybe the Earth King overslept." Iroh suggested.
"I'm sure it will be fine." Keya said, despite getting worried herself. "He's the Earth King. Doesn't he have people to wake him up?"
Just as the trio was about to discuss the Earth King's sleeping schedule, a group of Dai Li members walked in. At first, Keya had thought that they were here to escort the Earth King safely to the tea room. The tea trio were strangers to him after all, so it wouldn't be too crazy for the King to take some protection with him just in case.
In no time, the tea servers were surrounded. Keya looked around excitedly for the Earth King and his bear (what type of bear was it actually? She had neglected to ask Kanak. Surely it wasn't just 'a bear'?), but they weren't anywhere to be seen.
"Something's not right." Zuko whispered to his uncle. Keya inched closer to him. She held onto his sleeve nervously.
Zuko noticed her small grip on his sleeve. The Prince subtly connected his pinky finger with her own, frustrated with the fact that it was the most he could do to calm her down. Then again, he wasn't so sure if he wanted her to be calm. Something was going on and he needed her to be alert.
"It's tea time!" A young girl, around fourteen years or so, suddenly walked into the room.
Her green outfit did nothing to hide her pale skin, dark hair, and fiery gold eyes. She matched Zuko in the sharpness of her features, indicating their family resemblance. She walked with her hands behind her back, like a military General on her way to scold her troops. Yet, her face held nothing but a smug sneer filled with a combination of satisfaction and contempt as her eyes fell on Iroh and Zuko. A glint of surprise passed her face when her eyes landed on Keya. Who is this? But she covered it up before anyone could notice.
Zuko stood up in shock and offence. "Azula!" He exclaimed. Without thinking, he thrust his arm out in front of Keya protectively.
Azula raised a curious eyebrow when she noticed his action. The Princess sneered menacingly as she continued to speak. "Have you met the Dai Li? They're earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that's just so firebender. I just love it."
Iroh bent down and grabbed his freshly poured cup of tea. He raised it to his lips, but did not take a sip. "Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname 'the Dragon of the West'?" He asked calmly, but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, uncle." Azula inspected her pristinely sharp nails boredly.
Iroh smiled. "It's more of a demonstration, really." He sipped his tea. Keya stepped behind Zuko carefully when she noticed his on guard stance. Something was about to happen.
Without any warning, Zuko grabbed Keya and pulled her in his chest. He moved to stand back to back against his uncle, just in time for the old man to release a big burst of fire from his mouth. Keya whimpered against her lover's chest as the sounds of fire and battle erupted around her.
Using this momentary demonstration as a distraction, Zuko quickly blasted a hole through one of the paper walls. He dragged Keya with him as he made his escape. Iroh was right behind them, flames still blasting from his mouth in order to give themselves a head start.
The trio sprinted down the halls as quickly as they could, but the Dai Li agents were right behind them. Two of the agents shot out their rock-covered hands. Shards of pebble-sized rocks lodged themselves into the walls. The trio turned a corner just before any of them could be hit.
Iroh used his powerful lightning to blast another hole through the outer wall. Without hesitation, the old man jumped through. He landed with a rough grunt in a rather shapely bush. Keya hesitated as she looked down the hole. She was way too high up! What if she missed the bushes?!
Zuko stood beside her, looking rather conflicted as well.
"Come on!" Iroh yelled to them. "You'll be fine!"
Keya turned her head to Zuko to see if he had any plans of jumping. The boy had made up his mind before she could ask him about it.
"No." He said. "I'm tired of running. It's time I faced Azula." With that said, the young Prince headed back to fight his sister.
Keya was left to stand in the hole herself. Never before had she stood on such a high platform in her life; and she was expected to jump from it?! She shook her head in panic and looked back to where Zuko had abandoned her. Should she help him? Or jump to safety?
"Come on!" Iroh now focused his efforts on the girl he considered his daughter. "Use your bending if you must!"
That's right! She was an airbender! Surely she could soften her fall? There was only one problem...
"But I don't know how!"
"Trust in yourself, Keya! You mustn't let your doubts keep you from trying." The old man urged her.
Easier said than done.
Keya swallowed nervously, tears flowing down her cheeks from the stress of the situation. How could Zuko abandon her like this?
With all the courage she could muster, the young airbender started repeating the breathing exercises that she had been using for some time now. Breathe in... hold it... breathe out...
With each breath, she connected herself more and more with her element. Her skin tingled and her lungs felt lighter. She could do this.
Keya stepped closer to the edge of the wall. Two stories down she could see Iroh's hopeful eyes staring back up at her. His arms were stretched out, as if he would catch her once she fell. To be honest, it did help her calm down a bit. She trusted that man with her life.
"Okay," she said shakily, "I'll just jump down in three..." she took two steps back in preparation, "two..." she breathed out and focused her mind on the air around her. If she pushed hard enough, she would surely be able to soften her own blow with the power of wind.
"One!"
Without a second thought, Keya closed her eyes and made a great leap forward. Her body felt light as a feather as she soared through the air.
However, before she could get completely out of the palace and down to where Iroh stood, a stream of sharp rocks suddenly smashed into her body.
A breathless scream left her throat as the rocks closed around her body. From inside the palace, a small troop of Dai Li agents worked together to hold her body up mid-jump. Their strong arms strained against the gravitational pull of her weight as they used their rocks to slowly reel her back into the palace.
As soon as she was put back inside, the troop leader of the Dai Li shot out his own gloved hand to clasp her hands together. The young airbender struggled desperately against the rocky shards that held her in place to no avail. She watched helplessly as two men approached her.
"Please-" She whimpered softly. "You're supposed to protect the Earth Kingdom and its- its citizens..."
Her breaths came out more like heaves, strained by her rapid heartbeat and the familiar tightness in her chest. Vertigo appeared on the sidelines of her vision as the men came closer and closer. The cold, dead look in their green eyes would surely haunt her for the rest of her life. She flinched when one of them bent his rocky glove off of her body and used it to hold her head in place. Another bent a larger rock up to the side of her head.
Keya struggled harder against her restraints at the sight of the weaponised element. Her body ignored the pain of the small cuts and bruises it received from the movements. All her brain could think of was survival. Never had she expected to be in this position due to her own countrymen. A wet sob escaped her chapped lips. "Please... don't kill me."
"Princess Azula wants you alive." Was all she was told, before the large rock slammed against her temple, taking her consciousness with it.
Iroh couldn't see exactly what was happening, but the sound of her cries suddenly stopping was enough to make the old General fear the worst.
"No!" He gasped. But before he could blast his way back up the building, the troop had disappeared, taking Keya's unconscious form with them.
The old man calmed his racing heart. This was not the time to panic. He was a retired General after all! Staying calm in tough situations had always come natural to him. This wasn't like the situation with Lu Ten, he had to remind himself. He wouldn't allow it this time!
In all haste, Iroh made his way to a small house on the outskirts of the upper ring, where three friends had just arrived from their Bison trip.
Aang, Sokka, and Toph ran into their luxurious home. A familiar lemur greeted the trio. The Avatar smiled when he noticed his pet. "Momo!"
The boy held out his arms and let the creature climb up to his neck happily. When the three looked around to spot their Southern Water Tribe friend, they quickly discovered that she was nowhere to be found. Toph let her feet feel around for any heartbeats nearby, but her conclusion remained the same.
"There's no one else here." She stated dejectedly.
"Katara is in trouble!" Aang gasped and turned towards the other Southern Water Tribe member, Katara's brother. "I knew it."
The brother frowned worriedly. "Oh, no..."
Before the friends could think of a plan to rescue their friend, Toph turned around and silenced them. "Wait-" She said softly, "-someone's at the door."
As if on cue, Iroh knocked on their wooden front door formally.
Having already sensed his heartbeat, Toph smiled and walked to open the door herself. "Actually, I know who it is. It's an old friend of mine. " With that said, she opened the door to reveal the Fire Nation Prince's uncle; Iroh. "Glad to see you're okay."
The revelation shocked her two remaining friends. Aang and Sokka jumped back in alarm at the sight of their old enemy. However, the old man wasn't there to accompany his nephew in another kidnapping attempt. This time, he was only desperate for one thing.
"I need your help."
Aang's finger pointed between the man and his earthbending teacher accusingly. "You guys know each other?!"
"I met him and his friend at the woods once and knocked him down," Toph explained calmly, "then they gave me tea and some very good advice. Say- where is your friend, actually? I can't sense her heartbeat."
"That's actually the reason I'm here. May I come in?" Iroh asked. As soon as Toph gave him a welcoming nod, he entered the house and explained himself further. "Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se."
"She must have Katara!" Aang realised.
Iroh nodded sadly. "Yes. She has captured my nephew and my friend as well."
"Then we'll work together to fight Azula and save Katara, Zuko, and your friend." The Avatar spoke clearly. He would not stop at any point to save his friend.
"Whoa there," Sokka intervened, "you lost me at 'Zuko'."
"I know how you must feel about my nephew, but believe me when I tell you that there is good inside him!" Iroh begged. However, Sokka was having none of it.
"Good inside him isn't enough!" He pushed the old man away from himself. "Why don't you come back when it's outside him as well, okay?"
"It's not only him I'm worried about. Keya, my friend- she's like a daughter to me. That girl possesses a power that absolutely cannot fall into the hands of someone like my niece. Please, if not for my nephew, do it for her! She's innocent in all of this."
Sokka sighed and contemplated the situation in silence. Aang stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Katara's in trouble," he said, "all of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. Working together is our best chance."
With that, Sokka conceded. They were going to work together to get their loved ones back and save the city. This was their best shot.
❃
A/N: whoop there it is... sorry for the trauma lol