Law and Order
Kuei walked up to his respective side of the court, or more so the Palace Grounds, being used as a courtroom, and sat down. His talk with Long Feng yesterday forced him to other people of authority, the judge of Ba Sing Se.
A man stood up next to the judge, the bailiff, Kuei assumed, and after clearing his throat began to speak revealing a low, booming, emotionless voice, ?Accusation No. 53 sir?posing as a law official.?
The judge situated himself into his seat, and began to speak, ?A quite serious charge
indeed, especially when this law official,? he began to look up just over the tip of his glasses at both Kuei and Long Feng, ?is the Earth King.? He looked back down, burying his head in numerous papers, some of which Kuei questioned to have anything to do with this, ?But of course we can?t simply go by the words of one whom I do not remember setting eyes on before, while it is true that a bear is a rare sight and was said to be the companion of a past king, we still need facts. What grounds do you charge this on and what evidence??
Long Feng smiled as soon as he heard the word evidence, being wise enough to already have figured out that Kuei couldn?t possibly have much evidence, if any.
Kuei scratched his head and began, ?Well, I?m the 52nd Earth King, fact!?
The judge immediately looked up to Kuei out of the top of his glasses as he did
before, ?Evidence??
?Well...? he started, and then he abruptly remembered his statue, ?there?s an ostentatious statue of my pet and I!?
?And where would I find this ?ostentatious? statue of yours??
?In the palace, through the Hall of Kings.?
?Sir, I have walked through the Hall of Kings numerous times, and so has the bailiff, and so have most, if not all, of the guards who stand around you, so there are only two answers, either we?re completely blind, or you?re lying. Now if you wish to waste my time then we have nothing less to do here because you have succeeded.? The judge said in a finalizing voice as he started to stand up.
Kuei held up a protesting hand, ?Wait, sir! Just... please, just look once! I?m sure that you?ll see,? he said, and then threw his arms around and looked attempting to direct his words not only to the judge but to everyone there, Long Feng included, ?the great statue created and decorated in my honor.?
The judge sighed, ?Fine, we will check. But if you are lying, then you will suffer a dreadful and horrifying death, this, I assure you.?
Long Feng smiled as they all started to walk into the Hall of Kings, except for the small group of people watching, who were directed to stay here. He didn?t need to say a single word for the entire time, and the whole thing was completely going his way.
~
Moments later, the group arrived at a long hallway. The hall was filled with dimly lit candles, but there were so many of them that the hall was bright enough to see the smallest of rodents.
The judge continued counting the statues, ?50...51... Ah, 52. You?d really think that someone would number the monuments.?
Kuei frantically pointed to the statue, and when he finally looked up to see it for himself, he lost all hope of winning this, the statue wasn?t his, it was Long Feng?s.
?We will return to the Palace Grounds to determine your fate,? the judge indifferently stated, as though he didn?t care at all about what happened at this point.
Kuei, though, didn?t even hear the judges finalizing words; he was too busy gritting his teeth at the devious of Long Feng?s actions. He had to wonder: how far would this man go for power?
~
Kuei doggedly continued to plead that he was telling the truth, although nobody bothered to answer anymore. They sat back down in their respective chairs just as they had upon first arrival.
As Kuei walked up, seeming to lose hope, he looked curiously, as did all of the others that were present, at the man running up to the judge with a cup of tea.
?Here you are sir,? Iroh said to him politely.
?Thank you,? the judge said taking his team, and after a diminutive sip, he looked back up to Kuei ?Now, as for the sentencing...?
Iroh abruptly interrupted the judge, a smile growing on his face as he saw Kuei, ?It is good
to see the Earth King back,? the judge looked at him as though he thought that he was crazy, and then he finally noticed that he was addressing Kuei.
Kuei?s face brightened, as Long Feng?s dimmed, ?Me?? Kuei asked, trying to play along even though he knew that Iroh was serious.
?Of course, Ba Sing Se has missed its king for far too long, it is about time that you returned.?
The judge, surprised, moved into the conversation, ?Excuse me, but the man you are looking for is there,? he pointed towards Long Feng, ?the one you are talking to is simply an imposter, sentenced to be killed within this day.?
?But this is indeed the 52nd Earth King,? Iroh started to take a more serious tone, ?After the capturing of Ba Sing Se by Azula, as well as the Fire Nation and Dai Li as well,? he started, picturing nearly everything in his mind.
As Iroh started to recount the events, the judge grew increasingly angry as soon as he was informed that the Dai Li played at part in the war, and after asking Iroh to give him more on what the Dai Li had done, his face was nearly blood red. Iroh had no idea why he was talking about the Dai Li, he had no idea that Long Feng is, and has been their leader for numerous years, but the seemingly clueless judge knew at least that much.
Long Feng finally spoke for the first time, ?Wait, you really wish to go by what this tea maker says? What happened to facts and evidence? How would a simple tea maker know any of the things he said to us??
?This tea maker,? said the judge, taking his turn to be the ?informative? one, ?happens to also be the one who reclaimed Ba Sing Se, and resided in here a few weeks before the capturing of it, a close friend of the Avatar as well as the uncle of the new Fire Lord, and the leader of the greatly renowned ?Order of the White Lotus,? Fire Nation General Iroh. And what of you, you haven?t spoken at all and yet you question both of us? His opinion is enough for a sentence, but yours, I question. Now that I think of it, where did you come from? From the shadows of Ba Sing Se where you conducted a plan to take the thrown I would guess, it seems as though there will be a change of plans, you shall die instead.?
Long Feng, terrified, pleaded for the judge?s forgiveness, and trying to put together whatever sort of miniscule evidence he could offer. Kuei couldn?t stand but to help him, after all that Long Feng had done, he was still a person.
?Wait,? Kuei said, putting up a silencing hand, ?Long Feng, your treachery of the Earth Kingdom is great indeed; twice you have found the upper hand. You are hated throughout the Earth Kingdom, and due to the new treaty, I doubt you will be welcomed anywhere else. You are banished, if you are found inside of the walls of Ba Sing Se, even in the Lower Ring, you will be quickly disposed of, and I refuse to banish you again, you have already been imprisoned, your next punishment will be death. I command you to leave this city, now.?
Long Feng walked, and looked back at Kuei with scorn, ?You and I both know that I will return, I?ve bested you before, and I?ll do it again. You aren?t fit to rule the Ba Sing Se, let alone the entire Earth Kingdom. It will not be long before I make my return, your fall, will be hard indeed.?
~
Zuko sat in the humungous private study of the Fire Lord?s palace rapidly searching through papers and books. The study was lined with book shelves almost as tall as cottages, but still, none contained what he searched for.
?There has to be something... The Jade Eye.?
The Jade Eye was where Ursa apparently was, according to Ozai, but there was absolutely no information on it further than that she told Ozai that that?s where she would run, to the Jade Eye, a place where none would find her.
Zuko continued to go frustrated as he continued, only to find that there was no information in the entire study, and he went to the Ba Sing Se library a week ago. He had searched every library possible, and still, nothing.
And then he remembered the story that the Avatar told him, about how they knew when the eclipse would be, and where they discovered it. It was an underground library, a vast one, by Aang?s description. It was buried, and possibly gone from the physical world, but he needed to find this library.
"Wan Shi Tong's library..." he whispered to himself.
