Chapter 6

Now that that whole drill thing is over, we can finally start looking for Appa. So we’re taking the train from the outer wall to the inner wall of Ba Sing Se. Everyone’s excited to finally be in the city, but not me. Just when I was really enjoying the freedom of traveling, here we are back inside a city, trapped by a bunch of walls and rules. I have the same feeling I used to get back home. I know we have to find Appa and tell the king about the eclipse, but I’ll be very happy when we finally get to leave this place.

We’re finally at the station in the inner wall. I wonder how we’re going to get around?

“Hello, my name is Joo Dee. I have the honor of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se. And you must be Sokka, Katara, and Toph.”

Strange. This Joo Dee woman seems all nice and friendly, but she’s so happy and bubbly and full of energy and good cheer. It’s kind of creeping me out. How did she know that Aang was the Avatar? And how did she know the rest of our names, too? Who here knew we were coming?

“We have information about the Fire Nation that we need to deliver to the Earth King immediately,” Sokka explained.

“Great!” Joo Dee replied in that sickeningly sweet voice. “Let’s begin our tour.”

She just completely blew Sokka off!

“Maybe you missed what I said. We need to talk to the king about the war. It’s important.”

“You’re in Ba Sing Se now,” she said. “Everyone is safe here.”

How can she say that? We just saved them from a Fire Nation attack that could have brought down the entire city. I wish she knew how close she just came to becoming a prisoner of the Fire Nation. Safe is the last thing she is. There is definitely something weird about this woman!

I’ve seen this kind of behavior before—from my parents and my teachers. It’s called “being handled.” It’s when adults don’t listen to what you say. They just tell you what they want you to hear. We’re not even in the city one full day and already I’m sick of this place. Boy, oh boy, it’s going to be a long visit, I can feel it. …

And she’s insisting on taking us on a tour of the city.

“What’s inside that oval wall?” Katara asked.

“And who are those mean-looking guys in robes?” Sokka added.

“That is the royal palace,” Joo Dee explained. “And those men are agents of the Dai Li. They are the guardians of all our traditions.”

“Can we see the king now?” Aang blurted out.

Good for you, Aang. I’m tired of tiptoeing around this lady.

“Oh, no! One doesn’t just pop in on the king. But your request to see the king is being processed, and should be put through in about a month! Much more quickly than usual!”

Is she for real? No way I’m staying in this place for a whole month!

Joo Dee showed us to our house, but none of us were in the mood to relax. So we decided to walk through town searching for Appa. Joo Dee insisted on coming with us.

Unfortunately we’ve had no luck. No one has seen Appa, and no one even wants to talk to us. I don’t think I’m going to survive here if everyone acts this way. It’s so frustrating. It’s like there’s a big secret here that everyone’s hiding and we’re the only ones who don’t know it!

It’s our second day in Ba Sing Se, and I’m hoping today is going to be better than yesterday. Katara actually came up with a plan for us to see the king, so tonight Katara and I are getting all dressed up in fancy clothes and makeup, so we can sneak into a party the king is throwing. It’s a perfect opportunity to tell him about our information!

At first the guards at the door wouldn’t let us in, but then this guy Long Feng helped us get in. Then he wouldn’t leave us alone until we found our “families.” We were finally able to lose him. We were supposed to let Aang and Sokka in through the back door, but somehow Aang and Sokka snuck in without our help. Anyway, we’re all inside now. Time to set the plan in motion.

“What are you doing here? You have to leave, or we’ll all be in terrible trouble!”

That voice, it’s so familiar. It’s Joo Dee! We just can’t get rid of her. But we can’t let her stop us when we’ve gotten this far.

“Keep their attention while I find the Earth King,” Sokka said to Aang.

Come on, Aang, just keep their attention until someone spots the king—Ahhhh! Who’s grabbing me? Where are we going? This is not good. We’re obviously not wanted here. I guess we’re getting a little too close to whatever big secret makes this place so mysterious and makes everyone who lives here so frightened.

“Why won’t you let us talk to the king?” Sokka shouted. “We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!”

At least everyone is here with me. I wonder who these guys are, and what they will do to us.

“The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day-to-day minutia of military activities,” a man said.

It’s that Long Feng guy. He’s the cultural minister to the king and head of the Dai Li. What a liar! I bet he knew exactly who we were when he met us. And what kind of answer is that? What else could the king possibly be concerned with?

“But this could be the most important thing he’s ever heard,” Aang said.

“What’s important to the king is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se,” Long Feng shot back. “It’s my job to oversee the rest of the city’s resources, including the military.”

“So the king is just a figurehead,” Katara said.

Even though Long Feng’s denying it, it’s pretty obvious to me what’s going on here. Long Feng has the power. He controls the city. And he keeps the king in the dark.

“You can’t keep the truth from the people of the city!” Katara shouted. “They have to know.”

“I’ll tell them,” Aang added. “I’ll make sure everyone knows.”

“I understand you’ve been looking for your bison,” Long Feng retorted. “It would be a shame if you were not able to complete your quest.”

Does this guy know where Appa is? I can feel Aang getting angrier by the second. And now I know that it’s a really bad idea to make Aang mad.

Long Feng finally let us go. But as we were leaving, a woman came into the room and introduced herself as Joo Dee. But she’s not the Joo Dee we know. She’s someone completely different, claiming she’s Joo Dee. Seriously, this city just keeps getting weirder and weirder. And I just keep liking it less and less.