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Stubborn Walls - Chapter Four

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    I was skeptical at first at Kyoshi’s claim that Lilly was missing. I mean, this was Lilly we were talking about. The Fire Nation princess trained by some of the best master’s in the world and companion to the Avatar. Who would be stupid enough to attack her?
    Apparently, anarchist rebel mobs who really, really hate royalty.
    After about an hour of wandering the streets of the Upper Ring calling out for Lilly, Kyoshi and I came to an empty plaza. It wasn’t clear that something had happened there at first, until I tripped.
    “Are you okay?” Kyoshi asked, but still laughed despite herself. She offered me a hand and I took it.
    “Yeah, just the stupid plaza is out of whack. My foot must have caught the raised edge.” I said, getting back on my feet.
    “Huh,” Kyoshi mused to herself, “weird.”
    “What’s weird?”
    “This is the Upper Ring, where all the rich and important people live. The city goes out of their way to make sure this place is immaculate, almost as much as the palace. There shouldn’t be a raised edge for people to trip over here.”
    I suddenly understood what Kyoshi was implying. “Unless they were earth bended.” I breathed.
    Kyoshi nodded in agreement. “Check to see is there’s anything else out of place.”
    It didn’t take long. The moon was full and bright, illuminating everything bright enough to reflect light off of metal, which is how I found Lilly’s princess crown piece and how Kyoshi was able to spot scorch marks.
    “Believe me now?” She asked with no small amount of sass.

    Patience has never been Kyoshi’s strongest quality, even in the best of situations. So, no one should have been surprised when she burst through the palace, going straight in the direction of the throne room.
    “I’m sorry, Avatar, but the King had retired to his bed for the night.” A guard outside the throne room squeaked. I couldn’t blame him, I’d probably wet myself if Kyoshi gave me the glare that she was giving him.
    “Then wake him up! Tell him that the Avatar must speak with him immediately! And if he refuses, I will seize him from his precious bed myself! Understand?” Kyoshi screamed. The guard nodded and ran off quickly. She turned to me, “If this is how the King treats his own people, no wonder they’re rebelling.”
    I shrugged. “It will be okay, Kyoshi. We’ll find Lilly.”
    She looked me in the eyes for the first time and, for a split second, something flashed across her face. Anyone else probably would have missed it, but I didn’t. “I know.” She said like she was trying to convince herself.
    “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?” We heard a man yell from down the hall and turned to see said man storming up to us in his nightgown. The Earth King. “Avatar Kyoshi, you had better have good reason for such a rude interruption in the middle of the night!”
    “In fact, I do.” Kyoshi leveled him. “We have reason to believe to the Fire Nation Princess has been kidnapped tonight right under your nose by the rebel group you have been plagued with.”
    “Oh? Is that so?” The Earth King did not seem terribly concerned. “And what would you have me do, Avatar?”
    “My friend,” Kyoshi indicated to me with her hand, “and I will be leading a rescue operation to free the princess, and we would like a small group of your best warriors.”
    “My best warriors?” The King looked as if he could laugh. “Help you with some domestic rescue operation against peasant rebels? You must be joking! Why on earth would I do that?”
    “Because,” I stepped up, shocking everyone including Kyoshi, “this is not a domestic issue, it’s an international one. And these rebels are not just a handful of peasants fighting with stones and sticks, it was clearly a well-planned operation and we will need some muscle in order to break through! Besides, when the Fire Lord finds out that you knew his daughter has been taken and you did nothing about it, you’ll be facing all-out war on top of the rebellion and everything else you do!”
    The Earth King stared at me stunned, as did everyone else. It crossed my mind that the King could easily throw me in prison for talking to him in such a manner, but I held myself strong. I could not allow myself to waver.
    “Very well,” The King finally conceded, “Meet me outside the palace at sunrise, there I will provide you with my five top warriors. Good night.” With that the Earth King spun around and walked away.
    I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath until I let it out. Kyoshi quickly spun on me and leaped into my arms. Before I could react she kissed me hard.
    “You are incredible, Zheng. Absolutely incredible.”

    Compared to the Upper Ring, the Lower Ring was nothing short of disgusting. The streets were nothing but mud, smelled are various human and other animals’ wastes, and the people were everywhere. Everywhere you looked BAM someone was there. They were jam-packed!
    The King was not happy this morning when we told him that we wanted to investigate on our own today to see if we could pick up on leads without attracting attention to ourselves. Meaning, we didn’t need his five best warriors yet.
    We were both dressed down as we roamed the streets in order to attract as little amount of attention to ourselves as possible. But, to be honest, I still thought we stuck out because we both smelled of actual soap.
    I heard a gasp and spun. A boy stood behind a fruit stand with bandages wrapped around his arms and one around his forehead. Kyoshi and I recognized him immediately.
    He was the idiot from outside the palace.
    “You’re the idiot!” Kyoshi yelled and the guy’s face dropped.
    “I’m not an idiot!”
    “But you are a rebel.”
    “Shhh!” The guy looked panicked. “You want the whole block to hear you?”
    “Can we talk to you privately?” I asked. “It’s important.”

    “I’m telling you, I had nothing to do with the princess’s abduction!” The idiot, Yu apparently, told us.
    “But you have to know something!” Kyoshi pleaded
    “I don’t!”
    “Look,” I stepped up to him, “whatever problems you have with the monarchy are probably completely justified. But if you think he’s a pain now, wait till he has the Fire Lord knocking on his doorstep with his entire army. And if you think King or any of the high general’s will protect you and your family in the Lower Ring, then you’re wrong. They won’t. Protect what you care about now, and we will do what to help you later.”
    Yu sighed. “I really don’t know where the princess is.” He admitted. “But, there is a huge cavern underneath Lake Laogai. If someone were to hide princess where she’d never found, that’s the place they would do it.”
I know this Chapter is a little rushed, but hopefully that will only happen now. This is what happens when you're trying to do a million at once, you're brain just stops thinking.

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