539Wandering Prince
Avatar the Last Airbender, Zuko SI
26
Commissioned by jblake.
After stopping by the castle for Toph to request a formal meeting for us, we checked into our hotel and paid for a week in advance. Then, we got settled in and spent some time cleaning up and washing off the road dirt. With nothing to do until the meeting but kill time, we decided to relax a bit first, then see the sights—something Toph was most eager for, as she'd be truly seeing them for the first time even though she'd been here before.
Shared baths had become the norm by now, so the girls wouldn't hear it when I suggested we separate. I personally just wanted some private time—a man has needs and it was hard to take care of those on the road, when one of your traveling companions could see what you were doing through the ground. Also, I figured the girls might want a break from me, or each other.
It turns out, I was wrong, and we spent most of the afternoon just soaking and sitting quietly, relaxing together in the hot water and just talking over a pot of tea. Afterwards, we took a short nap before heading out into the city as the sun set, allowing Toph to go out without her blindfold. For a while, we just explored, taking in the sights of this part of the city as Toph acted as our tour guide.
"It's pretty," the earthbender murmured, head turning this way and that as she tried to take in everything at once. "I remember there was a nice place my parents took us to, where we got food. I think it's this way."
It didn't take long before we found the place—a large, two story building that pretty much radiated wealth. I cast a glance at Toph. "Toph, how expensive was this place?"
"Uh," she hemmed, frowning. "I don't think anyone ever said. Actually, I don't remember ever hearing a number given. Pretty sure we own the place." Shrugging, she grinned and put an arm in Yue's, then marched forward, her stone shoes clacking on the stone path below us as she pulled the taller princess along. "Let's go find out!"
I got the door for the two ladies and followed them inside, where a man who looked to be in his twenties, wearing Earth Kingdom green and gold robes and standing at a podium near the door frowned upon taking us in. I was dressed fairly casually and playing the part of visible bodyguard, but the girls had done themselves up a bit—nothing too outrageous thankfully, but they definitely looked good. In other words, we didn't look like we were too poor to be in a place like this.
"Ladies, sir, I am afraid that the Flying Boar does not take walk-in guests off the street," he sent us a polite service smile that didn't reach past his lips. "If you would like to make a reservation, I would be happy to take your names and put you on our list. I believe we have a spot open some time next month."
Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that if we actually wait that long and come back, our reservation will unfortunately have been 'misplaced,' but we'll be able to reserve a spot for the next month. Rinse and repeat until we get the message.
Toph laughed, shaking her head and pulling out her papers. "Permanent reservation under Beifong."
The man frowned, before darting his hand out to snatch the papers. Toph pulled them back and slipped them back under her robe. "Where did you steal that from?"
"It's mine," Toph rolled her eyes. "I'm Toph Beifong."
The man scoffed. "If you're going to pretend to be related to the Beifong family, you shouldn't choose someone like the heiress to impersonate. She would never be here without her family, because she's blind. You are neither here with her family, nor do you appear to be visually impaired. Perhaps you should leave, before I call the city guard?"
The ground trembled slightly under our feet as Toph's eye began to twitch, her fists curling at her side. Yue winced, pulling her arm out of Toph's and putting it around her shoulder. "Come on, let's just go. There's no reason to escalate—"
Toph ignored Yue as the taller girl tried to pull her towards the door, locking her feet in place and becoming immobile. "Get me your boss."
"I won't be doing that. We don't trouble him with whatever rabble comes in off the street. Last chance. Leave, or I call the guard."
The shorter girl opened her mouth, only to yelp when I scooped her up and threw her over a shoulder. "Zuko! Put me down!"
"Hush," I warned her, smacking her ass beside my head for good measure. She fell silent and stilled, and I knew I'd probably pay for that one later. Looking to what I guessed was equivalent to some sort of maitre de/head waiter, I asked, "What was your name?"
"Worth more than the likes of you."
I nodded, message received. "Okay then. Girls, we're going."
I carried Toph out, Yue walking along beside us and closing the sliding door behind us. As soon as we were outside, a pair of hands grabbed my ass and squeezed. A sound like a yelp might have escaped as I dropped Toph, who landed on her feet with a laugh. "What was that for?"
"You started it," she snorted, taking a moment to straighten out her robe. "Ugh. That guy was an asshole!"
"Perhaps, but he wasn't necessarily wrong, either. It would be suspicious to see the blind heiress traveling alone and seemingly cured," Yue pointed out, to which Toph huffed.
"Don't care. We're stopping by and talking to the people running this branch of the business for my family. He's getting his ass busted back to bus boy. He'll be washing dishes for the next twenty years," Toph grumbled as I put a hand on her back and pushed her along, Yue on her other side, as we moved down the street.
"Let's just find somewhere else to eat and worry about it tomorrow," I chuckled, spotting what looked like a decent place just down the street and guiding Toph in that direction.
"How can you not be angry about this? You saw he looked down on us!" Toph complained, genuine upset in her voice.
"First time?" I asked, and she paused, before jerkily nodding. "If I took you two to my home and started throwing around who I was, I wouldn't be too surprised if someone eventually called bullshit, papers or no. And remember, we're trying to travel incognito. The only reason you get to flash that thing around right now is because it's convenient for getting us in to see Bumi. Don't get used to it. There are going to be places where the doors are just closed to us, without revealing who we are."
Toph made a frustrated sound, but slowly nodded. "Fine."
Rubbing her back, which caused her to lean into my side, I continued, "And a little petty revenge never hurt anyone. We can screw with this guy a bit officially, but in the future, you should limit yourself to small inconveniences."
Toph grinned. "I've got some experience with that," she chuckled.
"I almost feel bad for anyone who got on your bad side," Yue giggled as we made our way into what looked and smelled like some kind of deep fried food.
We enjoyed sharing our meals with each other, trading bits back and forth as we tried a bit of everything on each others' plates. Dessert was a light, cold tapioca pudding. We paid and left, walking around a bit to let our food settle, before making our way back to the hotel for the night.
The next morning, someone knocked at the door to our hotel as we were getting ready for the day. I cracked the door open to find a messenger wearing a guard uniform—though his was a bit different from those we'd seen around town. "Good morning. Can I help you…?"
"Is Ms. Beifong present?"
I turned and called, "Toph," waving her over. She came over and swapped places with me. After a quick conversation, he handed her a scroll and left. She turned back and grinned.
"Alright! We're going to see King Bumi!"
"When?" I asked, dropping into a seat on the room's one bed as Yue looked up from where she was still brushing out her bed hair.
"Just after lunch," she answered, waving the scroll, before tucking it up her sleeve.
"That's good news," Yue sighed. "We have a few hours before we need to be there. Can… can we go down and see the refugees?"
Toph and I traded a look, before the earthbender shrugged. I sent Yue a smile. "Sure. Just be careful. And keep an eye out for pickpockets."
Yue rolled her eyes. "I don't think they're going to steal from someone helping them."
Toph laughed out loud and Yue pouted, turning a hurt look on the shorter girl before looking at me. I shook my head and got up. "If we're ready, let's go. We'll go have a look around, then get lunch before we go see Bumi."
We left the hotel and made our way out into the city, backtracking to the district the gate guard had to avoid. The change was like night and day. Our surroundings went from a clean city obviously cared for by benders, with nice homes and businesses, hanging decorations, and strategically placed plants and flowers, to an area that was bare stone, rough, dirty, cracked buildings and streets, stinking of human waste, and even darker as it seemed to be in the shade of the other buildings around it and the exterior city wall, all sitting at a higher level. This place probably wasn't all that great or well cared for before, but now the streets were filled with beggars, homeless, people huddled close together or eyeing each other and us all warily.
Yue was undaunted, however, as she took the lead and pressed further down the shadowed street. Eventually we came to a square and she looked around. Turning to Toph, she asked, "Can you make us a little building?"
Nodding, Toph took a moment to turn the stone in part of the square over, grinding the filth away between layers of stone, before a simple square structure sprang up from the ground. Four walls, a roof, diamond shaped windows to let in light with stone slats, and a doorway and a sliding stone door made up the outside. Inside were benches for sitting in one room, while the other—accessed by a thin sliding stone door—had a bench and a waist high table just big enough for an adult to lie on. There were places for torches for lights in both rooms, empty for the moment.
"How's that?" Toph asked as we stepped inside and inspected it. "I've seen the inside of a few clinics. Well, not seen, but you know," she trailed off with a shrug.
Yue pulled the shorter girl into a hug. "It's perfect! Thank you."
We stepped back outside and Yue took a deep breath, before calling, "Everyone! I'm a waterbender," she opened her bending water skin and twirled water around her body to demonstrate. "If anyone is sick or has injuries that need tending, please come see me. I won't ask for anything in return!"
At the skeptical looks of those around, Toph quickly added, "But whatever you can give is fine!"
Yue sent a sharp look at Toph, but that seemed to set the crowd in the square more at ease and, a moment later, a young woman—maybe a few years older than us—approached. Quietly, she said, "I, on the road, I was…" Yue took her by the hand and led her inside with a soft smile, and we heard the interior door close.
"Looks like we're going to be here a while," I pointed out as people slowly began standing and warily approaching.
Toph sighed and stomped the ground, raising a porch around the front of the building and creating a bench against the outer wall. We took a seat and she pressed herself into my side, turning around and leaning back against me as she propped her feet up on the bench and rested her arms in her lap. Glancing back towards the people approaching, she called, "Form a line and state your problem. The healer will see you by how bad the problem is. If you're bleeding, something's broken, infected, or you've got a fever, front of the line."
The first to make it over was a man holding his stomach. I gave him a nod and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Got stabbed in the stomach by a bandit just before we made it into the city yesterday evening. It, it hurts bad. Bandaged it, but I don't feel great."
I bounced to my feet, causing Toph to squawk as she fell back onto the bench, and grabbed him by the shoulder, dragging him in. "Yue, drop what you're doing! Gut wound takes priority!"
"It's okay, I was just finishing up," Yue opened the door to the other room and the woman hurried out, blushing but wearing a smile. I pushed the man inside and Yue took over. "Please sit on the table."
"So… she's the real deal?" another woman in the crowd was asking the one who had just left.
I tuned out their conversation as the woman practically gushed over how Yue had helped her. Toph sat up and I took my seat again, and this time she dropped her head into my lap—apparently deciding I made a good pillow. I reached down and began idly petting her hair as another man came up with an obvious broken hand, looking swollen and purple.
"Can't work like this," he chuckled.
I nodded and jerked a thumb towards the door. "Go have a seat and wait your turn."
The next few hours passed by quickly as Yue took care of the worst of them. Until finally, the area brightened as the sun peeked out overhead—having gotten high enough to be seen between the wall and the other buildings. I gave Toph's head one final scratch before telling her, "Go get Yue, would you? We'll need to go soon. We can come back this evening if she wants."
Toph sighed. "But I'm comfy."
"And how's it gonna look if we're late to the meeting we scheduled, with the king?" I gently pointed out.
Toph blew out an annoyed sigh. "Yeah, okay, fine. …Pick this up later?"
I laughed. "Sure."
She beamed a happy smile and hopped up, making her way inside. "Yue! We need to go or we'll be late!"
"But, but I'm not done," Yue protested.
I could hear the eye roll in Toph's voice. "We can come back later."
Yue sighed, and a moment later I heard her apologizing to the people already waiting, before stepping outside. "Everyone! I'm sorry, but we have to go meet with King Bumi to try to get you some more help! I'll be back soon, though, I promise!" People looked disappointed, but it seemed most of them were willing to stick around and wait, as many of them just sat down where they had stood in line.
I stood and the three of us left, making our way out of the too narrow street with eyes on us the entire time—though this time, it felt like the attitude behind most of those gazes had changed, as they looked at Yue with hope, instead of looking at our entire group with suspicion. We hurried through the market district, stopping only long enough to get some barbecued skewers and tea for a quick lunch, before hoofing it to the castle.
Toph pulled the scroll she'd been given out of her sleeve and presented it at the gate. "Toph Beifong and friends to see King Bumi."
The guard took the scroll and looked it over, before nodding and gesturing for us to follow. "This way. I know I don't have to tell you Miss Beifong, but for the benefit of your guests, please mind your manners."
"Don't worry. Yue's a princess and Zuko is nobility. They do the 'manners' thing better than me," Toph grinned. "I'll probably say something dumb and get us in trouble. Maybe he wants to spar. It's been a while since I've had a good fight with an earthbender who doesn't suck."
"Please don't." Quieter, the guard added, "The king is very bored and everyone here either respects him too much to challenge him or is afraid of him, so he'll take any excuse he's given."
I reached out and laid a hand on Toph's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll keep her out of trouble."
"As much as we can," Yue giggled on Toph's other side as the shorter girl grinned.
"That does not reassure me," the guard sighed.
Soon enough, we were shown to what looked to my eye like an audience hall. The door closed behind us and, looking around, I noticed a distinct lack of guards.
Then again, it's Bumi. He doesn't exactly need them, I mused as we made our way down the hall towards the throne, where an old man sat with a wide grin on his face. His hair and beard were wild and white with age and deep, purple bags were heavy under his eyes—but those eyes were still a bright green that held a calculating, intelligent gaze. For all that he looked like someone's doddering old grandfather, the one who just didn't give a fuck anymore so would say whatever was on his mind but half the time that mind was stuck fifty years in the past… that was a ruse. He might be a bit off, but all of his faculties were clearly still intact.
Beside me, Toph looked more uncomfortable the closer we got. Turning a look on her, I asked, "You okay?"
"The old fart's trying to collapse the ground under us and I'm fighting against it. And if he doesn't stop, I'm gonna knock him off that throne!" Toph growled the last loud enough for the old man in question to hear.
Bumi laughed, slapping his knee, and Toph relaxed as whatever he was doing apparently stopped. "An earthbender, a waterbender, and a firebender walk into a bar…"
"They should've ducked," I answered reflexively, and the old man laughed harder.
Sighing, Toph reached up and pulled off her blindfold. "Wow. I can finally see your ugly face and I kind of wish I couldn't."
"That's no way to talk to your elders," Bumi glared at her, but there was little heat in it. "So what happened? Got your eyes fixed and your parents were still trying to kept you wrapped in cotton?"
"Kind of the other way around," Toph admitted. "I made some friends. Took over the Earth Rumble in Gaoling. Found out my parents were planning to marry me off and hold onto the family business while waiting for our kids to get old enough to take over, cause they don't trust me to run it. So I ran away. We're on vacation."
"Mm. And are you going to introduce me to your friends, or keep being rude?" Bumi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I can do both, you senile old coot," Toph snorted.
"Toph!" Yue gasped, going wide-eyed. "She didn't mean that—"
Bumi laughed again and I sighed. "Don't bother, Yue. We've been played." I turned a look on Toph, to find her grinning up at me. "It's obvious these two have met in a less formal setting before."
"Well, it was kinda hard to hide what I was doing when we visited. He figured out I was an earthbender and was using the ground to sense pretty quick. I picked up a few tricks when we visited and have been working on them since."
"She was a precocious little brat sneaking out of her hotel when her parents went to sleep so she could go run scams on the local criminal element!" Bumi grinned. "I was ready to step in and keep 'em from roughing her up, when the reality was, I almost needed to step in to keep her from roughing them up too much!"
Yue's eyes narrowed into a glare at Toph. "So you were playing a prank on us?"
"Yep!" the little gremlin leered.
"We can get her back later," I assured Yue.
"Anyway!" Toph clapped. "These are Yue and Zuko. She's the princess of the Northern Water Tribe and he's—"
"Prince Zuko," Bumi nodded, and I raised an eyebrow. "What? I'm old, not senile. And your country likes to brag. They announced it the day you and your sister were born, and you're just old enough to be him. Besides, you look like Iroh when he was younger."
"Of course you've met Uncle," I sighed, and the old man nodded. "Lemme guess, if we play a game of Pai Sho, you'll probably kick my ass unless I open with the white lotus."
"Why don't we get out a board and find out, young man? It's been a while since I've played anyone who hasn't just let me win."
I shrugged. "Sure. We can do that later if you like. Before that though, we did come here for a reason," I said, before looking to Yue and sending her an encouraging smile.
Biting her lip, Yue nodded and stepped forward, bowing deeply at the waist. "King Bumi, we come before you seeking aid. Not for ourselves, but for your people!"
"Hoh?" he asked, reaching up and stroking his beard. "And what sort of aid would that be?"
"I'm sure that by now you're aware of the refugees coming to Omashu," Yue continued. "These are just the first of many! There is a line of people from villages that have been looted, pillaged, and burned by pirates marching here this very moment, from all up and down the coast. From nearly as far south as Gaoling. They have little, and what little they have is taken from them by bandits harassing them on the roads. Those that make it here are tired, hungry, sick, wounded, and many of the women have been assaulted. Many of your people are going to die if they don't get help soon!"
Bumi sighed, slumping in his throne as his jovial attitude fell away. "Oh please do stand up straight. I hate it when people bow," he grumbled, waving a hand at Yue. Shifting his gaze to Toph, he asked, "All the way to Gaoling, huh?"
"Pretty much. We've seen it ourselves. There have to be thousands of them. It seems like every village on the coast has been hit. The entire coast is just a line of smoke from burning villages," Toph confirmed. She stomped a foot and a bench rose up behind us. She dropped into a seat and Yue and I followed. "We met Zuko's Uncle and it seems like the Fire Nation are aware and sending ships to help, because a lot of those villages are mixed, but we've got no idea how many ships we're talking about and, well…"
"My people aren't exactly welcome in the Earth Kingdom," I finished for her. "So even if they showed up with material aid, chances are most people who weren't already from those Fire Nation settlements are going to turn it down. There's definitely a fleet in the area, since they tend to patrol the Fire Nation port cities on the coast to make sure those don't get raided, but there's a chance that they've just pulled in to defend those and decided that Earth Kingdom villages are an Earth Kingdom problem."
"Mm," Bumi hummed, stroking his beard again. "It's worse than I thought. I sent runners to determine how bad it was and they seemed to believe we were nearing the end of them."
"There are large gaps between some of the groups," Yue supplied. "But I promise, there are a hundred times as many coming as have already arrived. Omashu will be drowned in a flood of people if something isn't done."
"Yes, and we don't want that," Bumi mused. "There aren't enough supplies for that many people, even if I tap into the city's reserves. That many sick and wounded people crammed so closely together, sickness is sure to take root and spread among them like wildfire, then into the rest of the city. Not to mention, we just don't have the room for that many people in the city. We're on a mountaintop you know! Space is limited, unless we start digging down and expanding."
Leaning back in his throne, he frowned, crossing his arms as he thought it over. "The problem is, even if I dispatch people to bring relief and take care of the bandits, the pirates are still a problem. I don't like the idea relying only on the Fire Navy to handle them—as you said, there's every chance they won't."
"If you can't do anything about them, then don't," I suggested. "Focus on what you can deal with. It seems to me like this is a problem that can be solved with manpower, instead of just throwing money or resources at it and hoping it sorts itself out."
The old man grinned. "Oh? Let's hear it then. How would you handle it, if you were sitting where I am?"
I nodded. "This is the Earth Kingdom. You've got a surplus of earthbenders, right? Even just here in Omashu, you've probably got a few hundred who aren't part of the guard. Why not offer work? See who wants to volunteer to go help. Offer decent pay. They go out with a few guards and intercept the refugees. Most of them are just fishermen—no benders in their number, or they could've stopped the pirates. Build a simple village for them. Maybe help them gather some supplies so they can start rebuilding their boats that were stolen or burned. If you send teams like that, you can leapfrog them. One team stops to help one group, one team moves on further down the coast and helps the next. The first team finishes, passes by the second team, stops the next group, repeats the process, and so on. Deal with any bandits they come across along the way, of course. Make sure the villages are walled off and harder for pirates to assault. It solves the issue of refugees swarming Omashu, takes care of the bandit trouble, makes it harder for pirates to raid them in the future, and earns you the goodwill of basically everyone on the coast."
"And am I supposed to feed and clothe all of them too?" Bumi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Toph spoke up before I could. "The Beifong family will help provide relief. I'll speak with our local branch and send a letter off to my parents, but I'm the heiress and I'm here now, so I can make the call. We'll provide material and food aid and see if we can source carpenters and other skilled workers to help. In exchange, and in lieu of payment, we will require guards for our supply caravans providing that relief and will expect some benefits in the future. One thing I know my parents have been complaining about are taxes. Some sort of permanent decrease in taxes would be ideal."
Yue and I blinked, looking at Toph like she'd just grown a second head. Reaching out, Yue placed a hand on Toph's forehead. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Toph asked, confused.
I forced myself to keep a straight face as I asked, "Who are you and what have you done with our lovable idiot?"
Toph sighed, rolling her eyes as she elbowed me in the side and pushed Yue's hand away. "Shut up~. Just because I enjoy smashing my problems, doesn't mean I can't use my brain!"
"Okay, it's her," Yue sighed, smiling.
Bumi spoke up before we could devolve into bickering and/or flirting. "Well, if you can manage that much, I'll approve it and send people out. I'll need it in writing."
"Right," Toph straightened, nodding. "I'll have my people draw up a formal contract and leave the right spaces empty so we can fill in what we need to. It'll probably take a day or two."
Bumi nodded. "It will take that long at least to work through all the political nonsense involved in mobilizing a relief effort and convincing them that the information is good. Though, I have to ask, if you've seen miles of them coming as you've said, and yet you're here before all but the second wave… How did you get here this quickly, from Gaoling? Even taking a ship would have taken more time, and the raiding didn't start that long ago."
The three of us exchanged looks. Yue looked pensive, while Toph simply shrugged, deciding to leave it up to me. Nodding, I sent Bumi a grin. "Funny story, that. We actually sent another group of refugees this way ourselves, not long ago—but they haven't made it here yet and won't for a while. The short version is that a very smart man invented a means of traveling through the air. He was being held prisoner by the Fire Nation and being forced to develop weapons for them. I helped him complete the design, so he built a prototype for himself and his people to flee, and helped build a second one for me and Yue. We have a ship that lets us fly. It runs off of coal and the same sort of boiler engine Fire Nation ships use, but instead of using propellers to move water, they move air. It's very fast and lets us fly over forests and mountains, or along coasts."
Bumi's mouth fell open for a moment, before he laughed. "I'd love to see it. But I think that if you brought it here, my advisors would work behind my back to take it and turn it over to Ba Sing Se, to turn the tide of the war effort. Well then, I just won't mention that part. I'll tell them you came in with the latest trade caravan." Nodding to himself, he looked to Toph. "If you'll go put your foot in your people's butts and get them moving on this, I'll do the same."
Toph popped up and Yue and I quickly followed. "Alright! We'll be back once we've got something hammered out, old man!"
"I'll let the guards know to expect you," he confirmed.
"Ah," Yue spoke up, and our gazes turned towards her. "One other thing?"
"Yes? What is it?" Bumi asked.
"We built a little clinic in the lower district, where I've been treating patients. Is that okay?"
"Certainly! By all means, if you want to help, the land and the space is yours for as long as you want them. If you'd like, I can arrange to have guards accompany you and make sure things stay civil."
Yue hemmed, then shook her head. "I don't think that's necessary. They're already skittish of strangers and I think guards would do more to keep them away. I'll be fine with Zuko and Toph. Thank you, King Bumi."
"You're quite welcome. If there's anything you need for that clinic, don't hesitate to ask. I'll make it happen."
Yue nodded and when we left, it was with a huge smile on her face. We stepped out of the castle into sunlight and she turned her smile on us. "I'll go back to the clinic and get to work while you handle things on Toph's end."
"It's fine, I can take care of it," Toph shook her head, giving me a push in Yue's direction. "Go with her and I'll catch up."
"I'll be fine," Yue rolled her eyes. "I think they'll be more comfortable if it's just me. Please?"
Toph and I exchanged a knowing look, before I sighed and nodded. "Alright. Go on ahead. I'll go with Toph and we'll come by when we're done."
"Thank you!" Yue beamed, before turning and hurrying away.
Toph waited until she was out of earshot before asking, "You're not really letting her go alone, are you?"
I scoffed. "Fuck no. You got this?"
"I'm good," she nodded. "Go watch our princess and make sure no one tries to put their filthy hands on her."
"'Our princess,' huh?" I teased, and Toph blushed, glaring.
"Shut uuup~! Go!" she pouted, turning away and stomping off.
I laughed and followed after Yue, slipping into an alley and making my way onto the rooftops where I could observe covertly.