Wolf Moon 2

“He’s handsome,” Aunna said under her breath. Her face was turned politely, modestly away, and she was so quiet that the two waterbenders at the back of the boat probably couldn’t hear the glee in her voice. “A southern tribesman! I’ve never met one. I heard he’s their Chief’s son.”

Yué nudged her childhood friend in the stomach, where the movement was hidden by her own robes. “Do you want to leave me and become a princess of the south?” She teased. “They don’t have Yaks to ride to your wedding, so maybe the seal-lions can pull you in a sled.”

Aunna hummed. “Well, that is extremely appealing.” she looked up thoughtfully. “It would be nice, but who would take away your migraines?”

“Your grandmother is pretty good at that,” Yué said mildly.

Her friend gave her a long-suffering look. “Grandmother Yugoda needs to rest sometimes. Don’t you prefer my company?”

Yué just hummed back, deliberately noncommittal. They were nearly level with the guests now. The tallest one turned and—

Yué felt her heart skip a beat. She adjusted her gaze forward, putting on her pleasant court face.

He was staring at her just as intensely as she wanted to look back. She could feel it.

Aunna was right. The boy was good-looking.

On some level, she resented the thought. She was pretty sure she was supposed to fall in love with him. She didn’t want to follow the script because there was a definite exit for her.

On the other hand…

Yué slipped off into daydreaming, lost in concepts that she’d played with before. If she lived through this, maybe he could save her. Maybe she could get away from this place, like the occasional woman who escaped to the Southern Tribe. Or maybe he and his wild sister could help her change this stagnant place enough that she could live in something other than a birdcage.

Oh.

Yes.

The cage was drawing smaller this week. A lot smaller. She’d been stalling. If she’d wanted to accept, she would already have Hahn’s necklace on her throat. She’d pushed her father to thoroughly consider the other options, but it wouldn’t buy her much more time.

She felt sick. She hadn’t even noticed traveling out of sight of the visitors, drawn into dark thoughts as she was.

Yué’s engagement was being negotiated. She didn’t like either of the contenders. But she had a heavy feeling in the center of her stomach that told her she was going to wind up with the worse option.

Hahn was a braggart, and he’d never asked her a single question that wasn’t some way to solicit praise. She knew why he viewed the world that way. His family was very influential, which made a lot of people feel confident regarding things they personally didn’t accomplish. And he’d distinguished himself from an early age as athletic and energetic, a decisive person. He was apparently the type of man you wanted to have with you when hunting on the ice.

Privately, in her heart of hearts, Yué thought that making decisions quickly wasn’t much of a qualification for political leadership.

No one was asking her.

Soomo wasn’t much better than Hahn at thinking about the larger picture, but at least he seemed to hear her when she talked. He’d nearly withdrawn his suit when Hahn put his name in. Yué had given him the slightest reassurance that his family was just as respected as Hahn’s and he had time to accumulate battle-glory, and Soomo had decided to make a necklace to present to her father and the council of elders. Maybe she could live with him.

She grimaced and leaned into Aunna. The older girl glanced down and hummed.

“Princess, how would you like to go to the sacred cove?” Aunna asked quietly.

Yué shook her head. She didn’t need quiet contemplation, she needed a distraction from the grimness of her thoughts. “No, let’s continue,” she said. “Tea sounds very pleasant.”

They arrived at the west side of the city at a speed that a pedestrian could only dream of. Yué had to gently talk down her water bending escorts from bending them up the three flights of stairs in a spiral of ice. She needed to walk sometimes.

The tea shop had an incredible view of the sunset, which was why she’d come. When she arrived the staff genuflected and turned the “open” sign to “closed” to keep out other customers. She stared out the window and pretended she wasn’t stung by the thorough maintenance of her isolation. It was meant as a courtesy, of course, so she didn’t say anything to them. But…

She put her hand on her chin and sighed.

‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be a girl in a crowd? To be unnoticed, and to do whatever I want to do?’

“Princess.” Her tea was sat down with a gentle clink. The attendant backed away as the warmth wafting off the tea washed over her face. She breathed it in deeply, closing her eyes to savor the scent of herbs and citrus.

Aunna poured them each a cup. Yué gingerly touched her cup and then drew her fingers back, scalded.

“Hot things are still hot,” Aunna said. “Even in the heart of winter.” Her tone could have been interpreted as contemplative. She was definitely just teasing Yué.

Yué was just a little bit too dignified to stick her tongue out at Aunna. “Maybe they’d seem less hot if drunk in a warmer place,” she mused.

Aunna hummed. “Shall we run away to the Earth Kingdom and find out?” She sipped her tea. “I would look so good in green.”

“So good,” Yué agreed. She leaned onto her palm. “And those elaborate hairstyles- we could find someone to make us look like court portraits. And then we’d go do poetry compositions in a garden.”

“Have handsome men send us letters written on fans.” Aunna stared dreamily into the air.

“They recite poetry to woo lovers, in the Fire Nation,” Yué said quietly. She’d found so many references in the literature that it had to be a thing. “Imagine poems written for you?”

Aunna sighed. “Well…” she looked dissatisfied, and then forced a smile. “Imagine how beautiful your necklace will be!”

Yué hid her mouth behind the tea cup. “Yes,” she murmured. “I’m sure Hahn and Soomo both have something lovely prepared in case their suit is approved by the Council.”

Technically, legally. She had the right to reject a necklace.

Realistically?

They went back to the palace in a subdued mood. They were met at the door.

“Princess Yué,” said one of her Father’s guardsmen. He bowed. “Your Father would like to introduce you to the city’s guests. Please note they will be at dinner.”

She inclined her head and thanked him.

Aunna had to go home for dinner, so they parted at the door to Yue’s quarters.

She dithered, wondering if she should change clothes. Should she be more formal? She settled for changing her earrings and fixing her hair. She felt more confident after checking in her mirror. It was the closest thing to armor she had. If she was utterly pristine and perfect, she was doing things correctly.

She entered the dining room, pausing only a moment to confirm that her arrival had been noted. It was a well-practiced routine for public affairs. She was gliding into the room with perfect timing as her arrival was announced.

Her Father stood and gestured her over. “Yué, come meet the Avatar.”

She kept an even stride only because of hard practice, through the piercing headache that cropped up when she laid eyes on the Avatar up close.

‘Aang,’ she thought. ‘An airbender, who slept a hundred years.’

“This is Avatar Aang,” her father introduced. “Avatar, my daughter, Princess Yué.”

“Hi there!” He was suddenly far too close, grinning broadly. “It’s nice to meet you!”

She averted her gaze and made the correct polite noises.

“And I’m Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe.” The other girl had a very warm, comforting voice. Yué found herself relaxing against her will.

“And I’m Sokka!” The taller boy scrambled into her view, also grinning. “I, uh, I’m a chief’s son. So I guess in a way…” He pretended to polish his nails on his chest. “I’m kind of a prince.”

Katara gave him a look of disbelief. She flushed, obviously embarrassed.

“It’s nice to meet you, Katara and Sokka,” Yué said, a little more warmly than she’d managed for the Avatar. “How are you enjoying our city?”

“It’s beautiful,” Katara gushed. “The engravings in the ice- there’s so many stories!” Her eyes sparkled. “Are you a bender, Princess?”

Yué shook her head. “No, but my friend Aunna is. I’ll introduce you later.”

The southern Tribeswoman smiled with all her teeth. “I’m looking forward to it! I have so much to learn.” Yué blinked, a little stunned by the force of Katara’s beauty when it was directed at her like that.

‘She looks like some of the old families here,’ Yué thought. She smiled back and bowed in acknowledgement. ‘She could be Yuma’s sister.’

If Katara didn’t already have a betrothal necklace on, she would have been fighting off proposals with a stick.

Actually… Yué’s eyes narrowed. Katara noticed the direction of her gaze and put a hand to the necklace.

“It’s lovely,” Yué said, smiling naturally at the other girl.

‘It is very well-made, but it also looks like it’s been worn for a while. The leather strap is not new leather, it looks so soft and comfortable. Either she’s been betrothed since she was an infant, or the Southern Tribes don’t do them the same way we do. Maybe they pass down family heirlooms instead of requiring every man to make his own proposal necklace.”

Katara blushed. “Thank you, it was my grandmother’s.”

“She must have been very loved,” Yué commented. The necklace… that stone was not cheap. Katara’s grandfather must have been richer than most of the nobility in the North.

Katara’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“What are we talking about, we’re talking about jewelry?” Sokka threw his arm over his sister's shoulder. She shoved him off immediately but his mood wasn’t at all sunk. “I don’t know much about jewelry but isn’t it nice? Another thing that’s nice is this dinner, right Katara?” He didn’t wait for her to go on. “What’s your favorite dish here, Princess?”

…the southerners were a little weird, but pleasant, she decided.

“Oh…” Yué glanced down the table, thinking it over. “Probably the caribou stew.”

The Avatar glanced at her and turned a bit green. He pushed the gently steaming bowl a little further away.

Sokka snatched it up and wolfed it down. “Mmmm,” he relished. “I agree with you! This is excellent!”

Despite not wanting to like him, Yué felt a traitorous warmth in her chest. He was sweet, she thought. Guileless. He was clumsily trying to make her like him— but that meant he actually cared if she liked him. He had an impressive title too. He could have just talked to her Father if he was interested in her.

The next morning, Yué met Katara at the door of the diplomatic quarters. The door opened behind her. Without looking, Katara put her hand on her brother’s face and pushed him back inside. “Good morning, Princess,” she sang. “Let’s go!”

Sokka echoed her from the other side of the door, a bit muffled but still enthusiastic.

“Good morning, Katara, Sokka,” Yué said, eyeing the struggle. Sokka gave a yelp when the door shut on his toe. “Aunna will meet us at the gate. Let’s talk over tea.”

The three girls piled into Yue’s personal boat. Katara fluttered eagerly around the two water bending apprentices who worked in tandem to move the boat along the canal system. They were bemused, but they answered her questions.

Aunna tapped at her chin. “Princess,” she asked quietly. “Do you think Lady Katara is interested in external bending?”

Yué’s mouth dropped open for a moment. “Oh,” she breathed. She watched the other girl, who was copying what the male waterbenders were doing. They seemed extremely flustered at that point, but were too professional to tell off Yué’s guest. “I think you’re right.”

Her stomach churned. She remembered now. Katara was going to be a battle water bender. She’d go with her brother and the avatar and… a small earth kingdom child? well. She’d go into war zones, and she’d come back alive. Because of what she learned in this city.

Yué felt a spark of pride in her chest.

‘I don’t know how she’s going to get taught. But she will. She must be very persuasive.’