3rd Person's POV
The spectre blinked, water dripping off her eyelashes with the movement.
"It is true then, you can see us." Spoke the spectre, a waver and shiver as if she was cold in her voice.
"Sadly I am able to. No offense."
"None taken, milady." 'Milady? That's new.' Usually Sokka would call her that to tease her, but never formally like how the spectre just did.
"I am Eren, I passed away a few months ago from this world." Himoko grimaced, thinking back on what she was doing a few months ago. Safe, practicing her bending, learning from Karlie, spending time with King Bumi- During that time, this 'Eren' was losing her life.
"I apologize that you lost your life."
"I have come to terms with it. If I had done things differently, things would have ended up the same way eventually." Himoko frowned at Eren, "Are you able to elaborate?"
"I am, milady. My death happened outside of the city, but my body was carried into the city through the water tunnels used for refugees underground. So my spirit was carried here. I will not be able to properly rest until the same thing that happened to me, doesn't happen to anyone else."
"What happened to you? And how does that tie in with me?" Eren smiled softly, moving the rest of her body away from the bookcase, showing off the spots of her body where water fungi began growing.
"I was murdered at the hands of the city officials. Because I refused to stay quiet after the fuzziness left my mind and I was finally able to coherently think for myself again. I began spreading the word, but every time I would tell someone, they would wind up mysteriously dead or just disappeared." Himoko furrowed her brows, knowing what the spectre was speaking of, 'Seren told me about family and friends going missing out of nowhere, and no one acknowledging it except her.' Himoko thought in recollection.
"Soon enough, the passing of words lead back to me, and I was punished for it. They tried to... Make me forget again, but my brain having already been through that, combated against it. I was a lost cause, a lost tool to use, they couldn't keep me in their custody, so, they got rid of me however they saw fit. When I first woke up, I saw that I was near a body of water. I was tossed in, rocks and stones anchoring me down. I never learned how to swim when I was alive, so it was easy for me to die in such a way. I went to sleep in the Mortal World, and woke up as dead in the Spirit World. But soon, I was given a chance to come back."
"How so?" Questioned the Earth Princess.
"Any form of Spirit is given a chance, to stay in the Spirit World, or to linger in the Mortal World to do what we could never get to when we were alive."
"When you were alive... Y- You were working towards exposing what has been having in the city, so that's what ties you here." Eren nodded, a small "Yes." passing her stark blue lips.
"So... You need my help in exposing whatever is going on in this city."
"Yes. When I was still alive I never would have thought to come to someone like you, just in case you were in on the dirty deeds of the city officials. However- Now that you are our Adversary, and I am just a spirit of a girl wanting the best for her city... I can put more of my trust into you."
"I apologize for interrupting, but your time is running short with her. Adversary Himoko, do you agree to help this lone Spectre?" Yangchen's voice rang in Himoko's ear. Himoko glanced back, spotting the small twitch of Sadem's hand as the frozen effect began slipping away. She nodded, returning her focus to Eren. 'I am already in the process of investigating what is happening within the city, helping Eren will only be beneficial to both me and her.' She thought to herself as she came to the decision.
"I agree to helping you, Eren." A smile spreads across Eren's sickly pale skin, relief in her sunken in eyes. "Thank you, Adversary..." In a soft glue, she disappears as quick as she came, leaving Himoko to walk back over to Sadem, returning to her spot in front of the agent.
"I will leave you to finish your conversation with your friend." Yangchen followed Eren's lead and disappeared as well. Himoko took a small deep breath in, releasing it out of her nose.
"I don't want to put you in danger, Princess." Sadem stated, his tone not wavering, nor did he look to be confused. 'He carries the conversation on as if nothing ever happened... Just how much power does Yangchen hold over the Mortal World?' Himoko asks herself before softly realizing that Sadem was waiting for her reply.
"I'm already neck deep into this, Sadem. No use backing out now, especially when this deals with the safety of the citizens here along with my own. I'm already in this just by being the Crowned Princess." Sadem is once again conflicted for a moment, but the haze, and the thought at the back of his mind to obey her still was present.
"Okay..." He sighed heavily in preparation, "Have you ever seen the Jo Dee's?"
"You mean the servants?" Sadem nodded.
"I have only known about this happening for two months. The Dai Li keeps everything so under wraps they don't trust even their own forces with certain information." He explained further to the Princess. "There is like... Ah how do I explain this correctly...? Okay well, they are regular citizens that have been brainwashed to keep the secrets of Ba Sing Se and the outside world hidden. They are a part of the reason why no one in Ba Sing Se speaks about the war that is raging on outside of these walls. They will report back to the Dai Li of anyone they are looking after mentions it. The person who mentioned it will be brought in for questioning and- Brainwashed to forget about The 100 Year War and what the Dai Li did to them." Himoko blinked a few times up at him, processing what she was being told. 'It's like what Seren and Eren has told me... Hearing this from Sadem is just cementing down the truth.' She thought to herself, bringing her hand up to mull over her choices carefully, 'Hearing from three different accounts is wonderful and all... But, the idea of brainwashing our own citizens for something like this is unheard of- This can not have been going on for long. When I was here the last time, I remember the people around me would speak freely about the war. When Pappy and I walked through the Upper Rings, people everywhere spoke about it. What changed for things to get this bad?'
"Your Highness?" Sadem's worried voice broke her out of her deep thoughts. Her eyes widened in realization, if the Dai Li have managed to brainwash the citizens... Who else have they managed to brainwash?
"Sadem." He felt chills run down his back, her grayish blue eyes darting to the right, looking past the bookcases. "If I were to speak up against Advisor Long Feng, would he have you and the other agents brainwash me as well?" Silence. He didn't answer that difficult question. He couldn't. He didn't want her to worry like that, more stress added onto her than there already was upon her shoulders.
"Your silence is more telling than anything." She returned her gaze to him, releasing a heavy sigh, stress in her shoulder blades.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness."
"Don't be, none of this is your fault. You are simply following orders. I can only imagine the punishment that would be inflicted upon you if you failed at bringing anyone in that knows about the war and freely speaks about it."
"Princess Himoko?" A voice called, interrupting their conversation. Sadem stiffened, not wanting to be caught in the back of the library with the Princess of Omashu like this.
"It's okay." Himoko wasn't the slightest bit worried, having heard the footsteps approaching the library earlier a few lines backs. "It's just King Kuei. Grab a few books and follow me." She already began walking, leaving Sadem little time to grab a few random books from off of the non-fiction shelf and scurry after her. When he reached her, Himoko had taken the liberty of also grabbing a few books for herself.
They walked out into the open, spotting the Earth King along with his advisor and two Dai Li Agents.
"I see that you are taking a liking to our collection." King Kuei remarked with a proud smile. Himoko nodded, feigning innocence as she smiled, the role of being the Princess returning. It was startling for Sadem how quick Himoko switched from being curious and serious to being Princess Himoko, blissfully ignorant on what was going on inside Ba Sing Se.
"I am, Agent Sadem here has been a great help in reaching the higher shelves." She replied easily, her voice naturally sweet. 'Did she take classes in deception or what?' Sadem couldn't help but think to himself. King Kuei chuckled in reply, holding a hand out to her. Himoko placed one of the books she had grabbed into his hand. The King's eyes looked at the cover, reading the words under his breath.
"Masters of Spiritual Energy... I have never seen a book like this in our collection before." Long Feng slithered into the conversation, "Must be a new addition, Your Majesty." King Kuei handed the book over to him, letting the sly man to breeze through the pages.
"I have been meaning to ask, cousin. Is there a place for me to practice sparring at?" Long Feng blinked, brows creasing and eyes narrowing as he side eyed the princess. 'Sparring?'. King Kuei grinned, nodding.
"Still can't believe that your grandfather allows you to learn how to fight."
"It has come in handy these past couple of weeks. And surely in the near future as well. I would like to continue practicing, if that is alright with you." King Kuei held no negative emotion on his face as he listened to his little cousin speak, pride filling him on what a remarkable Princess she has grown up to be so far. "Of course it is, I can also have Long Feng provide you with guards to spar with." Himoko glanced to Sadem, raising her free hand that wasn't holding any of the books to him.
"Advisor Long Feng, does Agent Sadem have permission to become my sole sparring partner." Himoko watched the glint in Long Feng's eyes appear as he snappily closed the book, staring her down. "I'm afraid I can't guarantee his assistance, Your Highness. Young Agent Sadem here already has enough on his hands as do the rest of the agents." Sadem watched the raven haired girl tilt her head to the side, her smile never fading, nor was her authority. Just what was she up to in asking for him as a sparring partner.
"I won't be practicing fighting and self-defense everyday, Advisor. Muscles do need space in between of being thoroughly used after all. We can spar when it is Agent Sadem's turn to watch after me, it won't do much to change his regular schedule I assure you." There was the pride flaring up again in her older cousin. She had her mind set on something, she will gain it.
"Long Feng, I do know that the Dai Li are almost entirely in your control, however I do agree with Princess Himoko. This will do very little in getting in the way of whatever is in his schedule." When Long Feng sighs, Himoko knew that she won, gaining permission to spar with Sadem. "Very well."
"Besides that, we have come here for a different reason." King Kuei told Himoko, asking her briefly to sit down. Sadem placed his stack of books down (his arms were feeling a little sore after holding onto them during that tense power exchange between Himoko and Long Feng). He also took the book from off of Himoko, stacking them on top of his pile. He stood directly behind Himoko's seat, hands clasped behind him as King Kuei took the seat across from her elegantly.
"It's about Omashu's current state of unrest." Himoko leant back into her seat, crossing her legs, letting her cousin know that he had her full attention. "The citizens have managed to escape from Omashu, just yesterday we learned about this from a message sent to us by the Head Guard. We believe soon the Fire Nation will start making demands in exchange to get King Bumi."
"My grandfather didn't escape with them?" King Kuei shook his head, gesturing to Long Feng to hand over the message. Once the piece of paper was handed off to her and unfolded, Long Feng began speaking.
"King Bumi has willingly stayed behind, for whatever reason we do not know. No matter how good of the reason it is- It puts us into a tight spot. We may have to begin preparations to move the crown onto your head, Princess." Himoko frowned, shoulders slouching forward as she read the words on the page.
"So Aang and them were there... I wonder why they didn't take Pappy with them..." Himoko's brows furrow in thought.
---
Aang charges right into Katara, knocking them both onto the ground, Katara crying out in surprise as she makes contact with the ground. The two roll down the hill, hitting Sokka square into the chest, leaving him to join them and in the wonderful escapade of confused pain flaring up their sides. Once they land, Sokka pushed himself up off of the ground, annoyed in anger.
"What do you guys think you're doing! I've been looking all over for you!" He stated with a small huff. Katara rolled her eyes, not appreciating his attitude. "Well, I've been wandering around looking for you!"
"I was chasing some girl." Aang planted himself into the conversation after airbending himself off of the swamp covered ground.
"What girl?" Katara asks the 12 year old as he helps her up to her feet.
"I don't know. I heard laughing and I saw some girl in a fancy dress." Katara furrowed her brows, "Himoko? She's the only one out of us who could have been wearing one." Aang shook his head, "No, wasn't her. I would have known if it was."
"Well, there must be a tea party here and we just didn't get our invitations!" Sarcastically Sokka interjected, outstretching his long arms in emphasis. Katara frowned, looking down at her feet as she recounted on what she personally saw.
"I thought I saw Mom." Sokka's annoyance filtered away at her words, looking down and solemnly replying.
"Look, we were all just scared and hungry and our minds were playing tricks on us. That's why we all saw things out here." Katara arched a brow, looking up to her older brother curiously.
"You saw something too?" Sokka turned away from the two, hiding his expression from them as he crossed his arms firmly across his chest. "I thought I saw... I thought I saw Yue, But, that doesn't prove anything." He shook his head as he lied through his teeth, turning back around to face them. "Look, I think about her all the time, and you saw Mom, someone you miss a lot."
"What about me? I didn't know the girl I saw. And all our vision led us right here." Aang looks around them, eyes scanning for any oddity that could explain as to why they all ended up in the same place. Sokka wasn't worried about that, instead he was worried over why he felt like he had to lie to his sister and friend about who he saw...
"Okay... So where's here?" She gestures to the front of them, "The middle of the swamp?"
Aang's eyes glimmered in realization, nodding, "Yeah, the center..."
---
"Are you sure about this, Your Highness? I don't want to unintentionally harm you." Stated Sadem as he stood across from her at the training deck. The place where they usually would train soldiers or guards for the Earth Kingdom Army. Himoko releases a small sigh, nodding.
"I'm sure, Sadem. Don't worry about me. I have dealt with worse before. Besides, I need to let out some steam." 'I hold no doubts about that.' Sadem thought as he firmly planted himself, arms raised.
"Hey, Your Highness?" He called out to her before they began, watching her stretch out her arms. Himoko looked to him, black hair framing her face. He had expected her to put it up to train, but she made no move to do so, not even having an elastic band to tie it with on her wrist.
"Yes?"
"I'm surprised and slightly terrified that you were able to outwit Long Feng like that." Himoko smirked in triumph, cracking her back as she leaned backwards satisfyingly.
"Thank you for the compliment. Long Feng wasn't on guard for me this time around so it was quite easy. I won't be able to outwit him every time sadly, not much you can do there."
"Another thing... While are you trusting me so easily?" Himoko paused, staring at his body language. He was rubbing his thumb across his knuckles, a small nervous tick. But- His eyes were dead set on her, holding no qualms in hiding from her.
"You have no reason to lie to me, Sadem. Long Feng may be able to hold fear and dread over your head to keep you in line... But, I am able to see that no matter what, he will never be able to fully grab a hold of your everything. Heart, Mind, and Soul." Sadem smiled, feeling more at ease, unconsciously stopping in rubbing his thumb across his knuckles. Himoko smiled, straightening out her back, planting her hands on her hips.
"And Sadem?"
"Yes?"
"When we are alone, no one else around like right now. You can just call me Himoko, I do prefer it that way." She told him before darting forward, initiate the training session with her first jab at his side, that he easily blocked and maneuvered around her, quick on his feet. 'Thank you, Himoko.' He found himself thanking her in his thoughts, knowing that one day he will be able to muster up the courage to tell her that phrase out loud.
To Be continued
Hello! A lot has changed in the span of a month it seems!
Soo... At this point I still have no job, no idea if I will have a job in the upcoming months so that's nice. I'm hoping they figure that out on whether or not they are Essential or not.
In this chapter we learn about Eren and her final months of being alive, a bit of lore about Spectres/Spirits, and what has been happening in Ba Sing Se. She is apparently one of the many who have died by the hands of the city officials, or well the Dai Li Agents ran by Long Feng at it's head.
Himoko learns about the brainwashing techniques, and about more information from Omashu, which leads to an in passing information about soon enough, Himoko may have to be given the crown if things go south, with Bumi still being inside of Omashu. Held captive by the Fire Nation.
Not much else happened in this chapter, so not much to talk about! Comment down below on your thoughts and let me know what you all are doing in quarantine? Thank you all for reading and I will talk to you all later! -Golden