[Ba Sing Se]
The mid-morning sun shone gently above the packed streets of Ba Sing Se. Bright and warm on the cheering faces of the massive crowds who were out this special day.
It was definitely a day of celebrations for the city- for the whole Earth Kingdom really- and it showed! Green and gold streamers were strung on every lamppost and building. Great parade floats of Avatar Kyoshi in all shapes and sizes trundled down the roads with marching bands trailing behind them to the delight of children and adults. Everywhere one turned their head, it was peace and relief and happiness. And overlooking it all from the largest balcony of the Earth King's palace, Suki stood in her full Kyoshi Warrior regalia alongside her sisters as they watched and listened to the joyous celebrations below.
"The people are happy thanks to you, Kyoshi Warriors." The Earth King Kuei said as he walked onto the balcony with them.
"Thank you, wise Earth King Kuei, for this parade. but the Kyoshi Warriors did not do it for glory." Suki honestly replied. But the ruler of the Earth Kingdom merely smiled a fatherly smile as he stood beside her- looking out into the city as well.
"Too many times do the names of heroes go unsung." He told her, "Ensuring that today will not be one of those days is the least that the Earth Kingdom can afford for their selfless saviours. Is it so wrong to give the people of the Earth Kingdom a name for them to thank for good fortunes?"
"I suppose not." Suki conceded with a small smile, and the Earth King nodded.
"Then you would also not begrudge a king for rewarding such good deeds." He smiled graciously. And Suki- know what was coming next- knelt down on one knee with her sisters.
"Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors." The Earth King solemnly began, "You and your sisters proved instrumental for the defeat of the Fire Nation and freeing our people from the yoke of oppression. By doing so, you had aided the Avatar in restoring balance to the world... just as your ancestors did once before. For your service to the people of the Earth Kingdom, I hereby bestow upon you the highest honour that-"
"Stop the ceremony!" a voice called out as heavy footfalls echoed out. Turning her head, Suki saw a familiar giant running up to them in just his casual red robes.
"Khan?!" She shrieked in surprise.
"She's no true Kyoshi Warrior!" She saw Khan's muscular abs accuse her, "She doesn't even know the history of the island she claims to serve!"
"What are you talking about? I totally do!" Suki denied as she stamped her foot.
"She lies, O' Earth King!" Another familiar voice rang out, older and more wizened than Khan's smooth voice before a short, hunchbacked man with a beard caught up to them as well.
"Elder Oyaji?!" Suki shouted disbelievingly at their village elder, "What are you doing here?!"
"What is the meaning of this?!" The Earth King demanded and Elder Oyaji bowed in apology.
"My King! Khan is right: Suki always flunked her history class horribly!"
The king gasped- one that echoed across the city as the parades fell silent.
"What?! Is this true?" He asked her, and Suki felt beads of sweat run down her white-painted cheeks.
"So, what if I failed history class a few times?!" She cried out in her defence, "I'm still a good Kyoshi Warrior! And I passed history... uh... eventually."
But a frown just formed on the Earth King's mouth.
"You have deceived me, Suki."
"No, I haven't, my King!" She pleaded, "I don't have to pass history class with flying colours to know our history by heart!"
The Earth King gazed at her with a stern, disapproving eyes as if measuring her heart on an invisible scale before saying in a cold voice, "Then there is only one way we can prove it."
"Yes..." Elder Oyaji agreed with a grim nod, and Suki felt dread fill her belly as the village elder looked to the giant in attendance. "Khan, give her another history pop quiz!"
"Gladly." Khan's voice rumbled out as his large shadow darkened her face. His large hand reaching into his robes and pulling out a thick stack of test papers. And none of the questions looked like multiple choice, they were all 'fill in the blanks' questions.
Suki screamed.
...
"Khan, please no!"
Suki woke up thrashing. Suddenly, she felt herself encased in a familiar warmth of her five sisters embracing her, and their soft voices reassuring her.
"Suki, it's alright! You're safe now!"
"He can't hurt you here."
"You're safe with us."
"What? Where am I?" She mumbled against her sisters' hair. Her blue eyes glancing around the interior that they were in. It seemed to be an Earth Kingdom noble's travelling coach. Velvet-lined interior and the seats torn out to make room for six little cots that she was laying in.
"Oh, right... our new prison cell." She muttered in relief. Khan must have had her deposited here after she fell asleep. The same cell she earned after staying up until dawn answering Khan's relentless battery of history questions. Strange and pointless questions like 'How many siblings did your elder's parents have?' or 'How do you feel knowing that you're the only standing military in the world to still use war fans?'
"It's okay, Suki. You don't have to talk about it if you-"
"He didn't touch me." Suki said simply while quietly adding, 'But I wish he did.'
Confused blinks met that revelation, followed by a murmur of realisation from her sisters.
"So, he made you touch him instead? Like with your..." She trailed off as five pairs of eyes glanced at Suki's bust- the biggest in their island's age group. As one, five pairs of hands reached up to cup their respective chests; and pained expressions and resentful mutterings followed soon after.
"Of course, Suki is the one he went for... of course."
"Men... they're all the same, aren't they?"
"Only one thing interests them. Yes, it's true."
"When am I going to have real breasts..."
"Honorable Spirits, I've seen what you've done for Suki and I want that for me..."
Suki sighed in exasperation before adopting a flat expression and levelling a flat rebuke at them, "No... the closest we got to something like that was him touching my chin."
"So, your books about that forbidden romance between a Fire Nation commander and a captured Earth Kingdom spy lied about that?"
"I told you all to never speak about that ever again!" Suki whined. "Those books don't exist! And if they ever did, we burned them!"
"Sure, we did, Suki. Definitely burned those books..."
"But if you didn't do that... what did you do all night?"
"Yeah, you were passed out when Khan carried you here."
"Khan wanted to know our history of Kyoshi Island." Suki revealed- her head bowed in shame at how quickly she folded to him, "He was writing a book about Kyoshi island. He asked me a lot of questions about everything, and he said he'll definitely be interviewing you all as well. Khan assured me that you all would be treated better if I did talk. I'm sorry! I was just thinking about you all! So, I... I told him everything I knew!"
Her sisters shared a look before aiming smug smirks at Suki.
"...So, you told him nothing?"
"Suki sucks at history."
"No, I don't!" She protested- feeling obligated to defend her grades, "In a lot of his questions, I gave a lot of answers too!"
"None of which are correct. Good thinking, Suki."
"Good thinking didn't have anything to do with it. I think it was the opposite actually."
"Suki's such a dedicated Kyoshi Warrior that even her failing grades protect Kyoshi Island too, I see."
"We can't protect Kyoshi Island as much as the Village Dumbass does? How shameful."
"All the development that should have gone to her mind went to her breasts."
Suki just fumed as her dark past was once again brought up to light, and her sisters teased her for it. It was always like this whenever her childhood was brought up! So what if she flunked history three times and maths five times?! Her grades really got better by the end of it, but everyone keeps focusing on the years before! She was also the most physically-capable one in her entire village! That definitely counted for something!
... But whatever embarrassment she had evaporated as rolling coach-cell slowed to stop- almost making them topple over one another.
"What's happening? Does this thing have a window?"
Suki promptly found said window- wooden panel that shifted to the side to reveal heavy iron bars preventing any escape but still permitted a view of the world outside their cell. And the view was one that filled all of them with horror.
There! Just a short walk to the top of a hill was a familiar village- the same one that Suki and her sisters had stayed in just before that fateful duel with Khan. The green and white buildings were scorched black, and tall pillars of smoke rising up from various locations as distant figures garbed in the red and black uniforms of the Fire Nation swarmed all over the place.
....
Don't forget to throw some power stones :)
...
If you want to read ahead of the public release, or just want to support me.
you can join my p atreon :
[email protected]/Numera