Chapter Text
It's only a matter of curiosity.
At least, that's what he told himself as he snuck away from the celebrations and headed towards the decked Northern ships. He was determined to get his hands on the Northern princess's list of proposed Southern revival efforts. It was, after all, most likely the only document anyone had in association with someone as locked away from the world as her.
It was an impulse that Sokka couldn't help. It was extremely hard to imagine a life contained simply in the limits of home. Nearly every day since his early adolescence, he'd taken to the seas, travelled on behalf of the tribe, seeing new places, meeting new people, catching glimpses of different cultures. He had never handled the concept of staying put or settling in one place, much less settling down in life due to his absolute love for freedom, so naturally, his mind was still boggled by the claim that the Northerners didn't know they had a princess. And even if they didn't know at first, now that they did, shouldn't they be looking further into the matter? Had Chief Arnook really refrained from announcing the birth of his daughter? News of an heir's birth should be a cause for intense celebration, right?
But no one ever talked about these things. Instead, the Northerners were drinking and partying away with their Southern brothers, reveling in the reunion of the tribes, not mentioning (or perhaps not caring to mention) the person who made the reunion happen. Even Chieftess Kya and Chief Hakoda were too lost in the festivities to ask questions and prod for answers. The level of aid the South received and the utter lack of attention the North's princess was receiving made no sense, in all honesty. Shouldn't such opportunity be used by the North to at least glorify their "newly-discovered" leader?
Guess I'm not the only one who's underappreciated at times.
He reached the nearest docks and looked around. Not many people were there, only the few trickles of Northern tribesmen who lounged lazily near the bowsprits. He nearly slipped on something in the snow; a piece of paper, most likely an old pamphlet that had gotten buried beneath the snow under the influence of stampedes back and forth from the ships the past several hours. Thinking it to be a piece of trash, he picked it up to toss it in the nearest trash crate...only to pause when he caught a glimpse of words of interest: unknown daughter of Chief Arnook.
With furrowed eyebrows and a wild yanking of his gloves, he fumbled to unfold the torn pamphlet, reading what appeared to be an article heading and the first sentence of an otherwise torn-apart piece of parchment:
Hidden Princess
The North Pole's greatest discovery as of yet is the unknown daughter of Chief Arnook...
When he heard voices around him, he quickly slipped the paper into his coat pocket. There must be more where this came from.
At this point, the aurora had dulled down for a moment, letting darkness temporarily shoot through. Luckily, the bowsprit of the nearest Northern ship was lowered, and Sokka took the chance to sneak his way into the ship. He grabbed another crate that was resting a few feet away, threw anything he could find inside of it, and hurled it over his shoulder, assuming the gait of a tired attendant to make himself look like he was doing something productive. He kept his face hidden behind the crate, but people were too drunk to care more than they should, so that was a plus. When he finally reached the empty cabin area, he discarded the crate and let loose. He pulled out the piece of paper from earlier and searched through all the papers he could find sprawled out on board. Several frantic minutes later, he found nothing and decided to step deeper inside.
Look at you sneaking in like a thief, the more prideful part of him rebuked him for doing this incognito; if he asked, he would probably get the information he wanted or at least be given a nice copy of the article. Even so, he knew that people would be curious as to why the prince of the South was so curious about the princess of the North to the extent of exploring a Northern ship for anything that resembled a trace of her, and knowing his family members and their desperation to get him hitched, they would be more than willing to take this observation and spin it into a romance. Geez.
"'Oh, Sokka should totally consider her,'" he rolled his eyes, squeakily mimicking his parents as he slipped into an open room. "Stupid matchmaking culture. 'They don't need to see each other or know each other, they'll be so perfect and wonderful and will have lots of babies—"
"Your Highness?"
"Gah!" He ended up knocking over a few cleaning supplies nearby and landed on his stomach on top of a few barrels.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir!" A calloused hand belonging to a middle-aged man reached out to help him up. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Sokka brushed at his clothes and cleared his throat. "That's fine, sir…"
"Call me Zhi, Your Highness."
"No need for formalities. Sokka's fine."
"Ah, yes, Sokka," the man smiled. "Forgive me, but I was not informed that you would be visiting our ship. Did you have an escort?"
"Um...no, not really. Everyone's too distracted, I guess. What about you? Not feeling the party vibes?"
"I was just on my way there. I had a couple of errands to run for Captain Ivaneq. Is there anything I can assist you with? You seem to be quite...lost..."
Obviously. Sokka just hoped he didn't seem cunning or conniving to the crewman. "Yes. I'm actually here to, uh, have a look at…" Leader, say leader. Gender neutral. "...your leader's list of revival plans for the South. Maybe a document or something of that type?" Several documents, maybe?
"Did Chief Hakoda ask for them?"
"No, uh…I wanted to…It's for confidential purposes." Or to satiate his inner detective trying to piece the puzzle together.
"I see. Please, come with me."
Zhi led him towards a long hallway and up a flight of stairs, eventually taking him to a room that was closed to one corner. There were a few containers of drinks, too.
"Could I interest you in some gin, Sokka? It's your first time on our ship. And you don't look like you've had your share of drinks."
"No, thanks. Feel free to help yourself, though."
The man proceeded to pour himself a drink. He then reached for a collection of many different documents and placed the papers before the prince. "These are the originals."
"Other copies are fine, Zhi."
"There's only one set of copies. The ones the princess wrote."
Sokka raised his eyebrows as he observed the thickness of the paper stack. Easily up to forty or fifty pages of material. "The princess wrote all of this herself?"
"Yes, of course."
"She doesn't have scribes?"
"There are plenty of scribes in the palace, but you see, no one is allowed to contact her in any form. That is why she wrote all of this herself. Frankly, she had all of this prepared before...before we knew we had a princess to begin with."
So did this mean...this was her first set of orders ever? The first project she undertook at least publically? The prince looked up at Zhi, not oblivious to the look of concern on his face.
"There was also limited time for the scribes to copy down all the terms," the man added. "There were many connections we had to make with people from different parts of the world, and waiting for the scribes to make copies didn't seem feasible given the urgency of the situation. Several notes have been taken, though, and all tasks have been divided among the teams. Everything is derived from this packet."
The prince reached out and turned to the first page, instantly greeted by a sweet fragrance and an entire page dedicated to an invocation to the Spirits.
In the name of Tui and La, merciful upholders of civilization.
If anything, there were three things he learned from these few seconds alone. One: She's religious enough to rival his mother. Not really a surprise, of course, since the princess was Water Tribe and a Northerner at that. Two: She's well-versed in calligraphy. She had to be. The amount of skill it took to write even this much requires lots of effort.
Three: She smells like moonflowers and spices.
Sokka kept breathing in the fragrance as he skimmed through the documents, quickly absorbing the format of the plans. There were tasks divided according to division and specialty, all of them complete with contact information of trading partners from around the world who were also specialists in those divisions. All the problems of the South highlighted in the document had references in the margins, alluding to specific page numbers from the massive letter Sokka sent to the North a couple of years ago. Before he had lost faith in the North, that is. It felt nice to know that someone actually read it and was considerate of every little detail…
Or just took the pains to go extra to make the North look good. His inner cynic wasn't leaving anytime soon, but neither was his curiosity.
After several more minutes of examining the list, Sokka stood up and refilled Zhi's cup with more gin, wordlessly indicating a much-needed talk. "What exactly do you mean when you say you didn't know you had a princess?"
The man sensed the prince's enthusiasm despite surface-level "mundane" curiosity. "It's a very big deal, yes, but really, she was so sheltered and all…it was shocking, yes, but not totally unexpected. Chief Arnook was most likely trying to protect her. You know how overprotective fathers can be with their daughters sometimes. Maybe he was waiting for the right moment to introduce her..."
But Sokka was not at all convinced. He pulled out the piece of the article that he found. "Well according to this, she is the greatest discovery of the North as of yet. Doesn't seem like it's normal the way you're saying it is."
Zhi gulped down the rest of the contents in his cup, the attempted lightness in his demeanor dissipating. Concern took over. "It's...it's a very long story."
"I know, but I got all night if you're willing to tell me."
Zhi was well into his fourth cup before he licked his lips and got past his reluctance to speak. He slouched on a chair across from the prince and leaned against the wall, staring absently at the torches around them. He began with describing the severe tensions in the North ever since the reign of Arnook's father, Chief Aklaq. Aklaq was apparently not a very religious man. That in itself wasn't a problem... what was the problem was that he was in charge of a very religious North, which meant he had to be considerate of the people's values. He had always been focused on secularizing the North and was very insensitive to the spiritual needs of the nation. He was critical of religion so much so that he began to upset many right-wing groups at the time. He even passed laws forbidding certain practices which he believed were purely superstitious.
It was understandable why there would be problems. Sokka was not religious, either, and was just as critical of religious beliefs. At the same time, one of the first lessons he learned is to stay out of the religious sector and not interfere on the tribe's practices. There was, after all, a quality of unity that came with religious fervor, and that in itself couldn't be denied; in fact, it was crucial for the tribe's emphasis on the community's wellbeing.
Aklaq, of course, did not have that discernment. What he additionally did not realize was that even though he tried to eradicate religious activities on the basis of preventing ignorance and harm...his methods were actually more harmful. Whether or not it was useless to circumambulate around the Sacred Temple five times instead of four, such things didn't have a profound effect on others as did the increase of industrial involvement. With secularization and personal gain came increased divisions between classes. Temples that initially welcomed all kinds of people began to adopt regulations on the basis of class difference. Those who gave greater amounts of donations were treated as honored guests while the poor were cast out. Northern waters were poisoned by individual benefit, and in the process, discrimination of all kinds came to the forefront. The Northern Council of Elders and the chieftain's cabinet members could do nothing, for Aklaq was rather persistent and ruthless. There were times he meant well, though, like with the increase in trade with other nations, but his intolerance of religion was ultimately his downfall. Conservative fanatics ended up assassinating him and his wife, which left the responsibility of chiefdom to Arnook. Arnook was thirty-eight years of age when he and his wife, Ahnah, ascended the throne.
"I heard he came to power around the same time that my dad did," Sokka said.
"Yes. And whether or not you want to believe this…that was actually the last we heard about the South."
Sokka frowned. "What?"
Because by then, the conservatives had taken precedence in the Council and the cabinet right after Arnook came to power. At that point, these conservatives were a political organization: the Religious Nationalist Party, or simply the Nationalist Party. They claimed to be religious, but really, they were elite hypocrites. They spiralled into the same classist and gender divides, and although they didn't get rid of Tui worship, they still corrupted the tribe's egalitarian ways of life. They endorsed the superiority of men and the subordination of the 'impure' women enough to claim that La is theologically superior to Tui and even that Tui was a construction by heretic women. The ideas did not sit with the community at all, but regardless, they were too powerful to be dismissed despite their own fanatical heresies. Eventually, some of their agendas knocked Tui off of the picture altogether, endorsing La as the one true deity of the Water Tribe. In that sense, they were using religion to manipulate people's treatment of the underprivileged, the nonbenders, and especially the women. Ritualistic Tui worship survived, but by then, many people were starting to forget the Mother Spirit. Practically, this meant the rise of mistreatment and abuse of women, even young girls and children. It meant an increase in crime rate as rape and female infanticide began cropping up.
"And the people thought those idiots were better?" Sokka demanded, slamming his fist on the table in fury. "Didn't anyone retaliate?! What about that useless ass you call a leader?"
Several moments of silence followed, but not out of Zhi taking offense. Sokka's anger was definitely relatable. "Alright," the crewman said. "I think it's best if we stop the story—"
"No...sorry, sorry, I…"
Zhi strained a smile. "I'm not offended, sir. The anger you have is righteous. I only mean that it would be hard for you to listen if—"
"No no, I'll be fine." He refilled the man's cup. "Continue."
Arnook was useless. This was a widespread opinion, and even Arnook was aware that people were thinking this way. But if anything, the chief was not like his father. He was religious to an extent, but for the most part, he was not as concerned with the religious sector. In fact, he was completely detached and was willing to interact with the Nationalists for the sake of preventing more violence. He gave them many liberties out of fear alone. While Aklaq wanted to regulate religion, Arnook swung to the opposite end of the spectrum and completely ignored religion. This is why it was so convenient for the Nationalists to suppress voices which sought to bring back social equality.
"I remember when Arnook stopped passing laws altogether," Zhi said, rubbing his head. "The Nationalists had taken over by that point and began to inhibit the North's interaction with other countries and the sister tribe. We were only allowed correspondence with the conservative Fire Nation cities and certain parts of the Earth Kingdom, but no matter what, we were not allowed to venture out of the North for any reason. We were especially forbidden to contact the South. The Nationalists feared that there would be an uprising and a call for social equality under your more liberal influence."
"They can pass laws, but they can't stop people from still doing it."
"But they can certainly intercept our letters and kill the people who step out of line. There were entire families who wanted to come down South to escape the situation...only to suddenly disappear the night they tried to leave. There was continuous watch all the time. Correspondence was highly regulated, too. All messages from the South were intercepted, so Arnook couldn't even read them even if he wanted to. It's not like he could do anything anyway. He was a rather paranoid man for most of his reign. His parents were brutally murdered. He lived in fear of being assassinated if he made one wrong move. He was constantly worried about protecting his wife; Chieftess Ahnah had been the most vocal in resisting some of the Nationalists' policies."
Which, too, was understandable to an extent. Living a life of fear would make anyone turn out useless.
"Gradually, we stopped hearing about the chief and chieftess," Zhi said. He described how Arnook increasingly kept his life private. The chieftain limited the number of visitors to the palace, and eventually, it got to where he dismissed many of the servants save for a select few loyals. He made them swear oaths on sacred texts so that they would maintain confidentiality about his life. There would be no way the tribe would know even if Ahnah got pregnant or already had an heir. Arnook certainly didn't announce anything, and the tribe just assumed that he didn't have heirs.
"It was around that time when he met his future right-hand advisor, Khasiq." Zhi's eyes darkened with hatred. "Prominent new member of the Nationalist Party who quickly climbed his way to the top. But he was not like the other headstrong Nationalists. He was a hardcore conservative, yes, but the friendship he made with Arnook was highly unlikely. Very tense, too; you never knew when Khasiq would backfire and chop the man's head off. Not to mention, Arnook became a slave to alcohol during that time." Zhi frowned. "And one night, we were all shocked to hear pivotal news after years of isolation from our leader: Ahnah had passed away."
Sokka widened his eyes. "What?"
"Reasons unknown. There were no proofs to indicate it was illness, no proof to indicate it was murder." Zhi was getting angry now. "It was Khasiq! It had to be him, damnit! It wasn't made obvious but it was. And yet, that fool continued to trust Khasiq with his life. Damn him! Damn them all!"
To cool that anger came the man's eighth cup. Sokka reached forward. "Okay, I think you've had enough."
"Nonsense, I can handle it." He went on to pour himself some more. "There still hadn't been any talk of Ahnah being survived by an heir...but now it makes sense. Why Arnook would be stupid enough to act as if Khasiq had nothing to do with it. By then, Arnook did have an heir." Zhi's voice softened. "He had a baby girl...and during a time of widespread infanticide, too. She was Arnook's last connection. She is the last hope for the tribe. And to keep her safe...he couldn't announce her existence to the world. Even if she wouldn't be outright killed, she would be targeted. And not just because she was his daughter."
"Khasiq wanted the throne," Sokka finished. He shared a wild look with Zhi. "It's obvious. But...in that case, why would he not target Arnook himself? If the Nationalists were really influential and wouldn't be questioned, why…?"
"I don't know. I don't know everything that happens behind those walls. But I can tell you that even if Arnook was thought of as useless, there was still respect for him in the tribe. His paranoia was understandable, and there was already dangerous outrage in response to the chieftess's death. She was, after all, one of the very few influential people who stood up against the Nationalists at any given chance. If her death sparked outrage, finishing off the chief would give leeway for a mass uprising, especially from the peasant classes. It was already tasking to hold off the smaller peasant revolts during that time."
"But the princess...how was it possible to keep her hidden? Khasiq had to have known. You said...you said he was 'friends' with… Arnook couldn't have kept his wife completely hidden for nine months."
"Only the Spirits know what really happened," Zhi said wearily. "But somewhere along the way, Arnook and Ahnah had a daughter, and somehow, her birth went unnoticed."
"He must have sent her away from the area, then."
"No," Zhi said. "Ironically, he hid her within palace grounds. It sounds stupid, but it makes sense. People were not allowed to leave the city or transport things to places other than other areas of the North. If Arnook had made a fuss about sending something or someone away from the city, the Nationalists would've been suspicious."
"But it's too dangerous either way."
"Not if you play superstition against people like them. The Forbidden Chamber was an example of that."
"The what now?"
"The Forbidden Chamber," Zhi explained. "It's located in the eastern direction of the palace. It's the only part of the palace that is completely blocked off from the main building. It's been rumored to be haunted during the time of Aklaq's reign; many people claimed that the Spirits have been displeased with Aklaq's regime and lack of spirituality and haunted those chambers as a result. Whether or not that's true, no one can really say, but the conservatives believed that La, being the Wrathful Spirit He is sometimes, must have really haunted the place for revenge, so no one was allowed near the eastern portion. It seems Arnook didn't believe in things like that...or maybe he had peace rituals conducted in the name of the Goddess because he decided to hide his daughter there. It was the safest place...well, from the Nationalists, at least."
Could it really be that such a dire situation, such a thin thread of survival, was broken instantly with the princess's efforts to help the South? "How...how did you find out about her?"
"A little more than a week ago, a woman covered in veils and robes was spotted crossing into royal grounds and trying to stay hidden in the dark. She was followed closely by a group of men; she had to have been avoiding them. The guards managed to capture and detain the men, but they stopped following the woman when they saw her disappear into the eastern wing so casually, almost like it was her home or something. They didn't dare go further, thinking she wanted to hide there to escape and that she made the wrong choice in doing so. They thought that would be the last they would ever see her."
"What did she look like?" Sokka asked.
"Like I said, she was apparently all covered up," Zhi answered, and he elaborated that immediately, the rogues who had been captured were recognized as traffickers trying to lure Water Tribe women and sell them to landlords in the upper rings of Ba Sing Se. This incident had caught the attention of Professor Zei, a cultural anthropologist from Ba Sing Se University who had practically snuck into the North as a stowaway on a cargo ship and had only recently obtained legal permission to explore the tribe. He was determined to find out what happened to the mysterious woman and dared to step into the eastern wing the same night of the incident. The very next morning, several pamphlets had been sold across the streets, rampant with his description of a conversation he heard, of the mysterious woman who did, in fact, find a home in the eastern wing because she was the princess of the North who'd been hidden there her entire life.
"It was between Chief Arnook and a young woman addressed by him as 'Princess,'" Zhi said in dazed excitement. He stumbled out of his seat and reached for another stack of papers. "I don't have a copy of the article that you're looking for, but I do have the original pamphlet somewhere…" He began to sort through the papers. "Now where did I put it..."
But how can anyone stay locked up in a single building? Sokka wondered. People would go crazy if they were tied down to one place. Even prisoners have the chance to get fresh air and do community service every once in a while.
What was she doing outside anyway? How did she get out? Or even if she was outside, why in the world would she go back to that prison of prisons? If he'd ever been trapped to the extent that she was, he would've run away for sure.
"Aha, here we go." Zhi handed a copy of the said pamphlet to the warrior. Sokka skimmed over the heading: Isolated Princess: Arnook's Heir Hidden Behind "Haunted" Walls. He delved into the article, eventually stopping to closely reread a paragraph of utmost interest and a vast majority of annotations:
And as I picked up bits and pieces from the conversation, I was astonished to learn that this maiden, who had escaped from the clutches of the exploiters, is none other than the daughter of Chief Arnook. She is the successor to Northern rule whose birth was never made public most likely out of security reasons. I could not gather enough details to know her name, but I did heard her claim in distress that "those men" were not the attendants of a wealthy groom from a distant Earth Kingdom village but had been imposters all along, seeking to sell her in the streets of Ba Sing Se.
It is all the more astonishing to note that the chieftain completely disregarded her claims and furiously insisted that she had never wanted to accept the marriage to begin with. He charged that she unnecessarily escaped out of her strong desire to stay in the North. He expressed his disapproval over the fact that she was seeking the authoritative powers needed to launch her project of helping the Southern Water Tribe, the sister-civilization which has apparently been at the brink of starvation due to diminished resources and received no outreach from the North as of yet. Further in the conversation, it was revealed that the princess's marriage had been arranged in response to what Arnook described as her "bursting need" to aid the South. From this we can infer that Chief Arnook, who was not fond of the princess's need to be more involved, sought to reify her isolation by looking to marry her off in secret and send her out of the country, only for his plans to fail in the hands of imposters.
Her Highness demanded that she be given a chance to serve the South and meet with representatives to launch the Southern Revival Project. She stated that she will abstain from food and water until the day he allows her to go on with her efforts. The following was her concluding remark transcribed to the best of my ability:
"You should not expect me to sit behind walls and eat lavish meals when there are starving mothers out there who cannot feed their infants. Only those who have experienced such helplessness will know the pain, and the only way I can explain my desperation to help is to make you feel that pain. From this moment onwards, do not expect me to touch any morsel or sip of water your servants bring me. The day you allow me to send help to the South will be the day I break my fast."
Sokka set the papers aside, eyes softening unconsciously. So she pretty much blackmailed him like that…?
Until abrasive Sokka barged in. Wonder how much an anthropologist would get paid for writing a fake account.
No. How can you be so heartless? What if she really did…?
"The entire tribe was absolutely shocked," Zhi said. "From reading through Zei's manuscripts, they learned not only that Arnook had an heir and that the eastern wing myths were completely false...but that the princess, who'd been isolated from society for so long, who was nothing more than a stranger to every citizen, was still aware of the tensions and had broken through her barriers to get this far. We were also somewhat relieved to finally have some kind of communication from the South, but hearing of the state you were in was unfortunate. There was no way that anyone could've known...but somehow, the princess must have found the intercepted correspondences and stumbled upon your letter. She demanded that help be organized, and that very afternoon, the ministers were shocked to be called in for a meeting with the princess. The princess of the North! I remember questioning myself if a person like that even exists."
The warrior swallowed thickly. "Were you at the meeting, Zhi?"
He had been, but it turned out that several restrictions have been placed by the time Zhi and his team were in attendance. The chieftain was obviously humiliated by Zei's publications, and those, too, without permission. Zei was not arrested; authorities feared this would sever relations Ba Sing Se. But he was told to leave the country at once. That, too, backfired, though, since the news had leaked to all corners of the tribe. Many protestors had stepped into palace grounds demanding that the man who told them of their princess be allowed to stay. Besides, who else had the guts to crack into more secrets kept by the government? Either way, whether or not Zei was an abiding visitor, there were restrictions placed on him just as there were restrictions placed on the princess. She was prevented from meeting with the teams last minute. She was shifted away from the Forbidden Chamber, obviously, but was ordered to maintain distance from all outside communication. She is to remain unnoticed like before, not ever to be seen or heard even by the Nationalists. Especially by the Nationalists.
"But her wish was respected otherwise. Like she wanted, a meeting was arranged, and a representative was allowed to deliver her message and instructions. So bottomline, we did not meet her. We are not sure if she will be present at the Global Conference that will be taking place in the North this year. If she is to be present, she will have to refrain from speaking and should be secluded behind curtains according to purdah customs." Zhi sighed. "She is heavily restricted, but it's ultimately through her project that we are finally able to be free. We're now able to venture out of the North and travel. Not just here but to other places. How long had it been to contact a variety of other provinces apart from the same old Fire Nation capital and the upper rings of Ba Sing Se…"
Sokka did not understand why even with so much going on, they spent all meetings focusing on the problems the South, exclusively, was facing. Ivaneq never once mentioned the problems in the North. Sokka also admitted that normally he would have his suspicions, but for once, maybe just this once, he didn't feel that way. He never realized how serious it really was when Hakoda kept alluding to the unknown situations of the North. In fact, his irritation was of a different kind; the lack of communication between the two tribes in the past. The aggravation of not knowing the circumstances until he himself reached out.
"I understand that it is totally logical for people to be curious," Zhi said. "And why it's unsatisfying when they don't get their answers...but I think the main reason why no one is talking about the princess is...well, we haven't started to fully believe it ourselves. A week ago, even I didn't expect to be sitting in front of the Southern Prince and telling him all these things."
"We didn't expect to be given so much overnight, either. And I didn't expect...we didn't expect...the princess to take a risk like this for us. What is the situation like? Now that the people know about her? It has to be intense." He kept skimming back over the article. "It sounds like Khasiq had been so confident of seizing the throne when the time is right. That's not possible anymore, and he'll do anything to get his place back. And Arnook must be a mess. The one chance he had at protecting his daughter is now blown out of the water. Where can he hide her when people know about her?"
Zhi, who was so caught up in his defensive stupor, eyed him with a wary look. It was true that he told the prince all about this, but he wasn't looking to bring on the vibe that the North was in desperate need...even if it was in desperate need to a certain extent. He imagined that the princess wouldn't like that.
"At some point, someone has to take responsibility," Sokka mused worriedly. "Arnook is completely removed from the responsibility of the tribe, and Khasiq will no doubt turn chiefdom into a dictatorship. He will definitely target the princess—"
"We will find a way, Prince Sokka. Don't you worry."
Which only increased his suspicions. He was not at all assured by the sudden all-positive claim.
"We have hope, we do. The entire time we didn't know of her existence, we thought our torturous way of life would continue to eat us away until we, too, started hearing raised voices. Even if Arnook didn't have an heir or was himself a useless figure, we thought that change would come from a different source. By which I mean the Revivalists, whose influence slowly began to change the face of the tribe for better."
"The Revivalists?"
"Yes. They were founded nearly a decade ago in response to the heightening crimes. Revivalist philosophy is highly mystical. Its mission is to recognize the world as the image of the Divine Beloved and eliminate all forms of oppression. Their influence has grown to the extent that many atrocities have been put down. Since the past five years, there's been an overwhelming decrease in female and infant mortality."
At least that was a start.
"At first they weren't interested in politics; they simply offered shelter and safety. Built many charity houses, arranged regular mass feedings, distributed clothing and supplies. Recently, though, they've taken major steps. They elected their president, Daughter Sayen. They also organized a committee about three years ago and have started their own school to provide free education and self defense classes, especially for women. They've also expressed their interest to take this as far as they can, even if it means crossing the line of politics. So I'm sure there will be measures taken to make sure the princess is safe as well. Who knows, maybe we'll reach a point where we won't have to worry about it. Worst comes worst, Arnook might even appoint a bodyguard for her."
"A bodyguard?"
"Yes. That's sound like a feasible plan."
After a few moments of tense silence, Zhi then helped himself to a final refill. "Are you sure you don't want some? You haven't helped yourself all this time."
The prince, still lost in his thoughts, finished reading the article and looking through the plans before he picked a cup for himself.
"That's the spirit," the crewman said as he filled his cup. Zhi was quick to wolf down the contents and slump back in his chair, but Sokka hesitated. His mind was elsewhere.
"You should not expect me to sit behind walls and eat lavish meals when there are starving mothers out there who cannot feed their infants."
"Don't let this put a damper on you, Prince Sokka," Zhi said. "For so long, you've been working hard and breaking your back. Tonight, you should enjoy your gifts. Don't be thinking about these issues. The Spirits will never forsake those who have justice on their side."
What's a complex figure of imagination or a body of water going to do to help? Sokka huffed and left his drink untouched as he got up. He gave back the copy of the instructions but took the pamphlet for himself and placed it in his pocket, the princess's words running through his mind.
"From this moment onwards, do not expect me to touch any morsel or sip of water your servants bring me. The day you allow me to send help to the South will be the day I break my fast."
"Would you like an escort back, sir?" Zhi offered, starting to slur a little bit.
"No, it's fine. Thanks for telling me everything."
They were interrupted by a distressed set of footsteps which headed in the direction of the room they were currently in.
"Zhi!" came a voice of distress, and into view came another crewman.
"Ping?" Zhi frowned. "What's going on?"
"Did you hear about…" the man trailed off, panting as he noticed that Sokka was also in the room. "Oh, Prince Sokka. I didn't realize you were here."
"Any news?" the warrior asked. "Is everything okay?"
"Uh...um…" the man paused, taking note of Zhi's wary look. "Yes, of course. You see, I was just...going to invite Zhi to join us for the feast."
"I'll be there in a few minutes," Zhi said. "Are you sure you don't need an escort, Prince Sokka? Do you know your way back?"
Clearly they were wanting to discuss whatever there was in private. Sokka took a deep breath. "Yeah, I got it."
The crew members waited for a few moments after they saw the prince round the corridor. Believing he would probably be off the ship by now, Ping asked, "What was he doing here?"
"He was wanting to know more about the princess. He's the prince of our sister tribe. And he can be trusted."
"Trust is not the issue here. We are here to help them out only, not drag them into this mess with us."
"Well what was I supposed to do? Ivaneq was the one who oh-so-brilliantly announced that we didn't even know we had a princess. And to be honest, I felt like we can really trust the prince. He's a hard worker…" He sighed and shook his head. "I stopped the conversation anyhow. Tell me, what's the matter?"
"Our lookouts just received a message from the North. The princess plans to select a few members and create a separate Council."
"What?!"
"Shhh." Ping handed him a scroll. "As of now, only one candidate was confirmed: Daughter Sayen."
"The president of the Revivalists?!"
"Oh for Spirits' sake, be quiet!"
Zhi fumbled to unfurl the scroll and skimmed over its contents, the flush of intoxication gradually leaving his face and turning him pale.
"It's rumored that she will be selecting more Revivalists."
"Oh, Spirits, oh dear Spirits, don't do this…" Zhi threw the scroll aside. "The Nationalists and the Revivalists are already on the edge of their seats right now! This move would would cause severe tensions with Khasiq's Nationalist Council!"
"Of course it would," Ping said in alarm. "It's official; the princess has successfully established herself as legitimate competition for Khasiq. Just imagine. A council of Nationalists and a council of Revivalists, side by side in the same room, siding with their respective supporters. The chieftain's right hand advisor and the princess regent. One move is all it takes to ensue utter chaos."
"But they're already looking to slice her head off at any given point!" Zhi yelled, earning a wide, cautious look that did nothing to calm him down whatsoever. "This would...this would be reason enough to…"
"Face it, Zhi. She was already doomed to begin with," Ping said sadly. "That's why Arnook hid her all this time."
"But...there had always been a ray of hope. I thought as long as she kept to herself...I thought the Revivalists...I thought they would…"
"Even if they tried to protect her, you know they're still second to the Nationalist influence."
"So we just have to stand and watch the North's unexpected hope go extinct?"
Ping did not answer. He simply reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a few more papers. "Several articles have come out regarding the matter. These are just a few—Prince Sokka!"
The warrior had barged in at that point and grabbed hold of the papers, giving them stern looks. "Hope, huh? Let's see how much of that you have."
Power Play: The North's Revivalist Princess?
Unlikely Regent, Unconventional Alliance.
Sayen of Today, Lady of Tomorrow: Uncovering the Lost Princess's Role Models, Bridging Secret Identities.
Sokka squinted at the last article. "If Daughter Sayen is the president of the Revivalists, then who's...?" He pointed to the title. "What lady are they talking about?"
They both swallowed nervously.
"Whether or not you choose to tell me, I'll still find out in other ways—"
"Lady of the Mist, sir," Ping spilled. "Also known as Lady. She founded the Revivalist philosophy about eight or nine years ago. She must have been around fourteen at the time."
That's a bit young, Sokka thought in borderline disbelief. Then again, he had been fourteen years, too, when he took on a major leadership role.
"She hadn't intended for a group to form," Ping said. "She's basically a mystic whose ideas which formed the foundational liberationist beliefs of the early Revival groups. Eventually she was declared as the founder and leader of the congregation. Every new moon night since then, members have assembled at allotted locations to hear her speak."
"Not much else is known about her," Zhi added. "Just like the princess, she's an incognito leader. Because she is highly targeted by the Nationalists, she conceals her image by wearing a mask. She's described to be a powerful healer and waterbender. Her bending allows her to conceal her identity through the use of mist; hence the name."
"So she's never been seen by the public, either," Sokka said. "And yet she's still willing to speak to the public."
"Yes. The Revivalist members themselves are not secret and are known to the public, but their monthly gatherings are confidential apart from the fact that they take place during new moons," Ping explained. "This is to prevent Nationalist interventions, especially considering the Nationalists' history of violence. That's why the meetings are at different locations each month, different times in the night. Somehow the members are notified in secrecy as well." He gestured back to the article. "Lady has been an influential revolutionary force in Northern society for nearly the past decade. That's why the possibility of her alliance with the princess will be heavily discussed. At the same time, both of them are targets."
Zhi had opted out of the conversation to look through the rest of the articles. He ran across a pamphlet sketch hideously titled, "The Princess Mystic at the Guillotine." It depicted a veiled woman reaching out for the ocean with open arms as the men dragged her to the site of her beheading.
"Oh, Spirits, Oh Tui and La!" the man shuddered, the sketch snatched by Sokka the next second.
"The princess's resilience is admirable, and I do believe that she isn't dumb enough to take such a bold action without having some backup plan, but it's not enough," Ping said bitterly. "Khasiq is like a prickle snake with years of experience, ready to sink its venom into the first prey it sees. So far he's taken the chieftess's life, and under the guise of friendship, he's injecting his venom into Arnook. And the princess...she's a hatchling still learning to use her wings. She better fly her way through the political arena before the snake slithers over. Such a bold move will cost her her life."