Ki's life had been complicated.
Given up to a girls home at only one years old, she spent the past nineteen years growing up at a lodging house in Republic City without parents.
After the Earth Queen's untimely death, Ba Sing Se is left in chaos- lo...
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The circle of buildings, beaten down by the everyday, bustling world, were illuminated only by the artificial glow. Ki wondered if Ba Sing Se were different, if there was so much light pollution there, like in the city.
She adjusted the cloak around her shoulders, longing for the comfort of her ordinary clothes. It was early, way too early, and the handmaidens could have cursed at her for awaking before the sun.
Though she insisted and pleaded that she did not need help getting ready, stubbornly they pricked her with gold hair pins and draped her with ribbons.
"Can't I just go for a stroll?" She questioned, for the umpteenth time. "I won't go far, but I can't sit in here all morning."
The young girl shook her head, dabbing perfume on her neck and wrists carefully. "Not without a guard," she said, just like all the other times she answered.
Ki grunted, slouching into herself from her spot at the bay window. "Then... can you find me a guard?" She questioned curiously, unsure if it were possible.
The teenage handmaiden stood at once; she went by the name "Hina" as she told Ki last night when prepping her for bed. She was supposed to be a servant of higher level— Princess Ki's right hand, but she was still in training.
Suddenly she bowed. "I will find you a guard at once, Your Majesty," she grants, sliding out the hotel room door.
Raised eyebrows, Ki glanced at the direction she exited to. Do people just do everything she asked? Who needs that kind of power? Something didn't sit quite right with her about the dynamic, but she brushed it off when the door had opened again.
Hina gestured to the boy, about as old as Ki, who was sporting a police uniform. "This is Officer Mako," she informed, stepping toward the girl. "He will accompany you so you may leave the hotel."
He rubbed his eyes sleepily, unable to contain his annoyed expression. "It is an honor to protect the future Earth Queen," he forced out, almost sarcastically.
While he motioned to the door, Ki looked at the boy amused. She hopped up from the bench that sat in front of the window, and passed him with a laugh.
Mako muttered to himself. He was nuanced with the idea of not only dealing with one, but now two of the royal family members— and immediately wrote her off to be just like Prince Wu. After all, she did make him wake up before the sun had even began to peak over the towering skyscrapers.
Cars pass by, and old folk next-door laugh outside a small teashop with the charm of a Sunday morning. Ki smiled at them, imagining a younger version of herself, and how she would've killed to be somewhere as prestigious as this.
Amidst this, times stands still— the life of a girl Ki is but also isnot. It is now that she remembers her roots, hearing the ancient Earth Kingdom song being strung by a band on the street.
