"So you bet on a draw?"
"Yep. While everyone else was throwing gold at the girl's victory — and some especially reckless people were even betting on yours — I decided to take a different path, as you like to say."
Right. Mental note to watch my mouth. Suki had already picked up all kinds of expressions from me, and not just her.
Meanwhile, the warrior proudly displayed a pouch that rivaled the one offered for the winner. Now I understood why the organizer had been so pleased. If everyone had bet either on the Bandit or on me, then he'd made an absolute fortune off the betting pool.
"Oh? And here I was planning to invite you young ladies to a nice restaurant by the harbor so we could properly end such an interesting day. But since you all profited off me so shamelessly (and judging by the smug expressions on her friends' faces, Suki definitely hadn't been the only one placing bets) while I was risking my life and limb…"
"And don't laugh! That hit was extremely dangerous!" I interrupted the giggling that had already started up. Well, "tried to interrupt" would be more accurate, since it naturally produced the exact opposite effect.
"Or no dessert for any of you."
"Tyrant," the Kyoshi Warriors' leader declared firmly. "Better tell me, dear, what exactly you were cooing about with that poor girl while you were lying behind the arena before climbing back up? Surely you aren't thinking of cheating on me…" The young woman glanced at her friends, who were pretending to be completely uninterested, "...on us?"
"Hmm… ow!" I'd known she was going to do that.
"He's actually thinking about it! That's it. To atone for your crimes, you are now obligated to take us to that little restaurant you mentioned!"
Well, of course that was where the conversation ended up going. Not that I minded in the slightest. Why wouldn't I want to continue the evening over dinner with three beautiful girls?
What? Professional boundaries? Please. A personal retinue was entitled to certain privileges. Besides, the girls never had any problems with discipline in battle, and in peaceful surroundings this sort of thing was honestly pretty fun, so why not?
We spent the rest of the evening gathered around the same table, simply talking and laughing. Closer to midnight, Ju and Dandan finally took their leave, while Suki… Suki stood up and tugged me toward the room we'd rented in the very same restaurant.
"Someone promised to make up, with interest, for all the attention he failed to give me over the past month. Seems it's finally time to fulfill that promise…"
"The Fire Herald must always keep his word, mustn't he?" My hands had already begun loosening the sash around her clothes.
"That's right… but first, the bath. And I suppose I'll graciously agree to scrub your back," the girl purred.
The night promised to be a very pleasant one.
***
Toph Beifong. The Following Morning.
"Toph, I heard you were wandering around the garden late again," her father gently chided her.
"I just wanted some fresh air. Sitting inside four walls all the time is really boring, Dad."
The constant babying from her parents and servants alike was enough to make her climb the walls, while her little "walks through the garden"—which more often than not ended at the fighting arena or with her spying on the city's seedier districts—really did feel like a breath of fresh air.
"We understand that, but at least try not to disappear like that. Yesterday the servants and guards were looking for you for hours," her mother said with a weary shake of her head. "We were very worried. Honestly, how do you keep slipping away from them?"
Because they're blind, slow idiots! the girl thought irritably. And because they seem convinced that since I'm blind, I must also be some helpless cripple incapable of moving on my own. Even though I can see more than plenty of sighted people. Heh-heh.
"What could possibly happen to me inside the estate grounds?"
"You see, Toph… things in the city are rather tense right now. The Fire Nation 'delegation' returned recently. They were supposed to sail back home already, but according to them, some kind of problem came up and now they're waiting for a ship." (The Qunari of Kirkwall would approve.)
The girl immediately remembered her acquaintance from yesterday. A very strange and suspicious type, one who had been incredibly difficult to "listen" for lies. More precisely, his bodily reactions had been far too faint, which pointed to one of two possibilities: either he hadn't lied at all, or he truly was a "great scoundrel."
The latter theory was supported by the subtle sensation she'd felt the moment he asked for her name… as though he already knew it!
"So let them wait," the Beifong heiress puffed out her cheeks. "What does that have to do with me?"
"Fire Nation people are very dangerous. Many of them are utterly unscrupulous and willing to do some very ugly things to achieve their goals," her father continued lecturing her as though she were a small child. "Believe me, I trade with them. I know what I'm talking about."
"We don't know why they've remained in the city or what they want, and that leaves us fearing all sorts of possibilities."
I get it, the girl thought bitterly. You're afraid the Fire Nation wants something from the Beifongs and might try to use your blind, helpless daughter to get it. Which means you'll lock me inside these hated walls even tighter than before.
"All right, Mom. I won't stay out in the garden late or wander around alone anymore," she agreed obediently.
I can always escape from my room instead.
"Thank you, sweetheart," her father smiled. "And how are your..."
He never got to finish. A panicked servant burst into the hall.
(End of Chapter)
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