✨•~~~~~~~~•✨
LEIs POV

We were still in the air but closely approaching Ba Sing Se. I stood next to Korra and Tenzin, while we were looking down at Bumi and Kai having a small lesson with Jinora. Kai won, leaving Bumi on the ground.

"It's so exciting to be on a diplomatic mission to Ba Sing Se. What's the Earth Queen like?" Korra asked curiously, I scoffed.

"She's absolutely horrible, I can't stand her, she visited the fire nation once for a meeting with Lord Zuko, and other leaders. Lord Zuko couldn't stand her either," I replied.

"Well, I've never met her but I heard she can be quite demanding," Tenzin said, leaving Korra curious. Suddenly, Bolin came running up next to me holding the railing and looking out to the city approaching.

"This is it, Mako! This is where dad grew up! Come here! Look! Look!" Bolin said excitedly, I chuckled at his eagerness.

"Okay, calm down, I'm looking," Mako said slowly, as he walked to his brother's side.

The city ahead of us was huge and had several ring divisions. From the outside, it had a tall and wide wall covering the whole perimeter of the city, making it impossible to climb over.

"I wonder how many airbenders are down there?" Korra asked curiously, as we began to hover above the city. Suddenly, I smelled something terrible and immediately covered my nose.

"Ugh, the lower ring looks terrible," Korra commented, as we overlooked the lower ring. It had dark smoke around it, and a few not well-built houses.

"I can smell it from here, no wonder dad left," Bolin added, as he covered his entire face under his shirt.

It took us a couple of minutes before we arrived in the inner ring. It was a long distance from the wall till the inner palace. The airship slowly descended in front of the palace, that served as an air dock for other flying ships and planes. When the airship had safely come to a stop, the ramp lowered and we all went down. We were greeted by a man with earth kingdom robes.

"Avatar Korra, Master Tenzin, and of course, Princess Lei, It is a pleasure to welcome you and your friends to the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. I am grand secretariat, Gam," Gam said, as he bowed in front of us.

"Thank you," Korra said, as she and I bowed.

Bolin took a step forward along with Oogie behind him, Naga and Kaya at his side, and Pabu on his shoulder, as they took a deep breath, inhaling the air.

"Ahh, It's got that upper ring smell," Bolin commented, I chuckled lightly and rolled my eyes.

Gam widened his eyes at the animals, and said quickly, "Oh no, the queen hates animals. We have to get them out of sight,"

"Well, I can just stash Pabu in my shirt," Bolin said, holding Pabu in his hands, then he looked at Naga, Kaya, and Oogie, "These three are going to be a bit of a problem,"

"Come, I'll take you to your quarters," Gam said, as he led us out of the air dock.

I glanced back at Kaya who stayed with Oogie and Naga. I gestured for them to follow us, and they eagerly responded. Kaya came up to my side, so I petted her causing her to purr. We were passing the garden that had beautiful pond with koi fish.

"Now, when you meet the queen, make sure you bow low enough, that's very important. Don't look her in the eye, she can't stand that. If any food is served, don't eat before she eats," Gam explained quickly, with a hint of worry in his voice.

"That seems like an awful lot of rules," Korra huffed.

"Trust me, It's a lot worse when you actually meet the woman," I whispered to Korra, she groaned.

"Oh, you have no idea. I'm the one who gets in trouble if people don't follow them. So please, for my sake, please try not to upset her majesty," Gam pleaded.

After a few more minutes of walking, we arrived in a small villa, where we are supposed to spend the night. We entered the small villa, and the main room had a table and chairs in the middle.

"Here we are. Now, go and make yourselves comfortable," Gam said, as he allowed us to roam around. He then turned to Bolin, "And keep those animals out of sight in the backyard,"

"Avatar Korra, follow me, we do not want to keep her majesty waiting," Gam said, as he exited the villa. I heard Korra groan, and I laughed at her.

"Goodluck, Korra. Tell me how it goes later on," I chuckled, Korra groaned as she followed Gam out the door.

Once Gam and Korra were out of sight, I whistled for Kaya to get in. She ran up to me and licked me, making me chuckle. "Come on, Kaya. You'll stay with me,"

Kaya and I went up the stairs, and went to a room that was empty. It was spacious, enough for Kaya and I. I opened my window, which had a great view of the outer palace. As soon as I unpacked some of my stuff, I headed down to the main room where everyone else was.

"Hey, has anyone seen Kai?" Jinora asked, I looked around as I went down the stairs not noticing he was gone actually.

"Kai?" Tenzin called out, as he stood up from his chair.

"Kai? Little bro!!" Bolin called out, as he descended from the stairs. I walked up next to Asami and Mako.

"He's not over here," Bumi said, as he left his room.

"I don't think I've seen him since we landed," Asami said, Mako groaned.

"I knew that kid was no good, he was just waiting for another opportunity to run away again," Mako complained.

"We have to find him," Jinora said worriedly, as she approached us.

"Why bother?" Mako commented, I looked at him and smacked him on the shoulder, "Ouch! What's the point? He obviously doesn't care about us,"

"He's still a kid, Mako. And he was our responsibility," I said, Mako rolled his eyes.

"And he is the only airbender we've recruited so far, we can't lose him," Tenzin said, Mako sighed deeply.

"Fine, Bolin and I will find him," Mako said, Tenzin nodded and headed up the stairs. I turned to Mako and Bolin. They were about to leave but I grabbed Mako's wrist, causing him to turn around and look at me.

"Do you want me to tag along?" I asked, Mako shook his head.

"No, you stay here. I can tell that you need to rest and the upper ring is really big so it might take us a while," Mako replied, as he put a hand on my shoulder. I smiled and nodded.

"Alright, goodluck," I said, as they waved goodbye and left the small villa. I looked to my side and saw Asami staring at me with a huge grin on her face.

"What?" I asked, wondering why she was staring at me like that.

"What was that? Are you and Mako like.....together?" Asami asked curiously, I raised my eyebrows immediately.

"What? No! Why would you think that?" I exclaimed, Asami chuckled.

"To be honest, you guys are the perfect pair ever since both of you became crime-solving partners back in Republic City," Asami explained, getting excited from all the gossip.

"We were working together, that's it," I chuckled, Asami rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. I know a romantic spark when I see one," Asami said, as she led me to sit on the chairs in the main room, she looked at me before saying, "Plus, Mako really cares for you, Lei,"

"I don't know, Asami. I'm not even sure if I'm even ready for a relationship yet. And also, why would he like me? He likes girls like you and Korra more," I explained, Asami sighed.

"Oh, trust me, he always had a soft spot for you, even when he was with me and Korra," Asami said.

"I don't know if I should take that in a good way or a bad way," I chuckled, Asami chuckled too.

✨ •~~~~~~~• ✨
MAKOs POV

Bolin and I left the small villa and started walking to the Upper ring to find Kai. Bolin suddenly nudged my shoulder. I looked at him and saw a huge grin on his face. I raised my eyebrow, wondering why he was looking at me like that.

"What's on your mind, Bro?" I asked awkwardly, Bolin smiled even wider.

"I don't understand why you won't just admit that you like Lei," Bolin smiled, I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously? You're still on this?" I shrugged.

"Oh, come on, Bro! Lei is awesome, and you're awesome! Both of you would be even more awesome together!" Bolin exclaimed, I sighed deeply.

"You can't just force relationships to happen, Bolin. They happen when it's a mutual. And, I don't think she would even like someone like me," I muttered, as I dug my hands into my pockets. Bolin wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"So does that mean you do like her?" Bolin asked curiously, clearly hearing what I said. I smirked at him, removed his arm from my shoulder and walked faster, getting away from the conversation to look for Kai and Bolin, who was calling after me.

✨ •~~~~~~~• ✨
LEIs POV

Ever since, Mako and Bolin left, and everyone else was in their room, Asami and I have been talking. We had a few snacks in front of us that was on the table. I was eating a lot of the egg custard cakes, while Asami was eating the bean curd puffs as we had a small chat. Which was interrupted as the front door opened revealing a very angry looking Korra. I smiled widely at her, knowing she had just came back from her meeting with the Earth Queen. I clapped my hands together in an upward and downward motion to get rid of the crumbs.

"So, how'd the meeting go?" I teased, Korra slumped in her chair as she sat down next to Asami.

"She's annoying, and Tenzin was right, she was demanding. In order for her to do something for us, she wants me to collect the taxes from a place surrounded by barbarians," Korra said angrily.

"If you want, Asami and I can tag along. We can have like a ladies mission for once," I suggested, Korra sighed.

"Yeah, thanks guys, I appreciate it. But speaking of the boys, where are they?" Korra asked.

"Kai kinda slipped away so Mako and Bolin went to look for him," Asami replied.

"That kid is real trouble," Korra commented.

"He reminds of me when I was young, I used to wreck havoc around the palace," I chuckled, remembering the faint memory.

"Why don't you take care of him for a while. I think he would listen to you," Korra said, I thought about it and it doesn't seem like a bad idea.

"I'll talk to him and give him a piece of my mind when he gets here," I said, wondering how I was going to take care of a troublesome boy.

After a nice and refreshing chat with the ladies of the group, we headed to our designated rooms to turn in for a good night's rest. During that chat, Korra had told us about what the earth queen had said about there being no airbenders in Ba Sing Se, when we clearly had reports of them everywhere here. I pushed the thought away for now and entered my room to see Kaya on the floor, looking very comfortable as she slept. I smiled and headed to my own bed. I plopped down and exhaled deeply. I felt really tired after everything that's happened this week. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, I got up early since Korra, Asami, and I were headed for a mission from the Earth Queen. I put on my boots and made sure they were secure. I grabbed my dao swords that were on a table near the open window. I attached them to my back and waist tightly, making sure they don't fall off. I heard a faint snore coming off from Kaya, realizing that she was still in the room fast asleep. Someone had to take care and accompany Kaya while I was gone. I went out of my room and headed to the first person I thought of. I knocked on his door lightly, still aware it was really early in the morning.

I knocked on the door twice before entering and said, "Hey, Mako? I was wondering if you could watch Kaya while I'm--,"

"Gone," I continued in my sentence when I noticed he wasn't in the room at all. I looked around the room and it didn't seem he was in here at all. I raised my eyebrow, wondering where he was. I went to check on Bolin as well, and he wasn't there either. I sighed and gave up, so I went back to my room to fetch Kaya. I brought her with me to the backyard where she could stay with Oogie and Naga for the day.

When I went to the main room, I saw Korra and Asami. We headed to the airship which was at the air dock. We boarded the airship and Asami took the wheel to control the airship. I looked over Ba Sing Se, as we slowly ascended to the sky.

"Are you sure we shouldn't ask more people to come with us to collect the tax money?" Asami asked, as she held onto the wheel.

"There are royal guards waiting at the vault. I doubt anything would happen, I think her majesty likes ordering me around," Korra huffed.

It wasn't that long of a ride going downtown. Once we arrived, Asami had slowly set down the airship in front of the place where we were supposed to pick up the gold. When we got off the ship, I looked around and saw that the area was worn down and looked completely deserted. There were a few people, but once we made eye contact with them, they retreated back to their house. I looked at Korra who had the same expression I had, we both had a feeling something wasn't right.

"I don't like the looks of this, let's hurry up and get out of here," Korra said, I nodded.

The three of us cautiously walked to the building where the royal guards were. Once we arrived at the front door, it had opened to reveal one of the royal guard officers.

"Are you here to pick up the tax shipment?" the guard asked.

"Go ahead and load it on the airship," Korra nodded and replied.

The guards started loading bags of gold into a small cart, as the three of us stood at the top of the stairs making sure everything went according to plan. Once the bags of gold were loaded, the four guards started walking towards the airship. Just when you thought things couldn't go wrong, a flare was sent to the sky behind a few buildings from the right. I narrowed my eyes at the flare as it flew by. As an instinct, I held one of my dao swords from my back. After the flare went out, sounds of motorbikes came from the distance. I squinted my eyes to get a closer look from the direction the sound was coming from. Suddenly, motorcyclists jumped over the wooden fence and headed their way towards the gold. The royal guards ran from the sound, being the cowards they are, leaving the bags of gold unattended. I deeply sighed. Men.

"So much for our escorts," Asami scoffed, as she put on her electrical glove.

"Tell me about it," I added, as I grabbed my dao swords from my back and held them to my front.

"Maybe we should've brought everybody else," Korra said, looking at the group of bandits coming our way.

The group of cyclists circled around us before coming to a complete stop, surrounding us from all ends. A large truck stopped in front of us, and out came a tall and buff man with face paint. He put his hands on his hips and faced us.

"Step away from the gold, ladies. Or you won't get hurt," the man warned, in a low voice. I scoffed.

"I hate to disappoint you but we're taking this gold back to Ba Sing Se," Korra said sternly.

"Aw, we love gals with spirit," the man commented before glaring at us, "Suit yourself,"

The man tried to kick Korra, but she dodged it with her earthbending, creating a pillar from the ground. Asami looked preoccupied fighting a moving motorcycle. It was time I had a little fun. I turned around and saw three motorcyclists coming for me in a triangle formation. I smirked and put away my dao swords. I ran towards them, creating lightning on my way there. I looked at Korra, who had just taken down a guy.

"Korra! Give me a boost!" I shouted, she looked at me and got sense it what I was doing. With that, she created a pillar right below my feet launching me from where I stood. I jumped over the middle cyclist, who ran into the earth pillar. Mid-air, I started sending each bolt to the two cyclists remaining, sending them down to the ground. However, some of them were quick to their feet. They tried to punch me but I dodged them by ducking down, and hitting them in the stomach, making them stumble back. Once they were at safe distance, I sent three blazing arcs at them with swift leg movements, causing them to catch on fire and run away, I chuckled watching the sight. I looked at the bags of gold, and saw a cyclist heading right for one of the bags. I ran towards the bag and grabbed one of my dao swords. Just as the cyclist was about to grab the bag of gold, I threw my sword making it land right in between the bag of gold and the cyclist's hand, causing him to flinch and drive away. I let out a deep breath, growing tired after a the small fight. I looked at Korra who had just finished knocking off the man with face paint off his feet. The man got to his feet quick and ran back to the truck.

"Retreat! Retreat!" the man shouted, and the cyclists began to move away from us and the bags of gold, the truck started to drive off as well before someone shouting, "You're on the wrong side, Avatar! That gold belongs to the people not the queen!"

"Why do I get the feeling he's right?" Korra asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows at the bags of gold, knowing that there is a possibility that the earth queen might be hiding something, I looked at Korra and said, "Something doesn't add up that's for sure. It's about time we started finding out what's really going on here,"

✨•~~~~~~~~•✨
AUTHORs NOTE:
This chapter was edited but nothing from the storyline has been changed.

Greetings!! Wow, my chapters are getting longer which I hope you all are enjoying. This chapter was 3,200+ words. I feel proud of myself right now HAHAH, and surprised cuz I'm supposed to be doing a paper on martial law but hey, I wanted to write about this instead 😂

PUBLISHED: October 1, 2019