Trickle [Sokka - Book One]

⚝Chapter Two⚝

Eimi sat down, her knees pressing into the snow. Her food was placed on the table in front of her. However, she wasn't hungry anymore. She thought it would just be her family eating breakfast together, not her family and Hahn. He was boasting about something to her father. She wanted to yell at Father, but she kept her mouth shut. She had learned that speaking her opinions will hurt her. 

"Hahn," Mother said, "are your parents proud of you?"

A smile spread across his face. Yes, he was a handsome man. But his attitude made him as ugly as a polar dog (and she was not talking about the cute and cuddly polar bear dogs since they are different). That immediately cancelled any attraction she felt toward him. He pushed his hair out of his face with a jerk of his head. 

"Yes, they are," he answered. 

Eimi tuned out the rest of their conversation. She stuffed the seaweed stew into her mouth and chewed. She really wanted to finish her dinner so she could leave. She couldn't stand being in Hahn's presence. What he said about her when she was young stung every time she thought about it. 

Yue tapped her arm, and Eimi lifted her gaze. She swallowed and said, "Yes?"

"What do you think of Hahn?" Father asked.

She almost snorted. He was asking her that? She hated the guy. She hated everything about him. But she couldn't say that. She didn't want to hurt Yue's feelings. Instead, she said, "He's . . . an interesting choice. As long as he treats Yue fine, I'm fine with him."

Hahn turned his attention to her. She didn't think he remembered that day, but she certainly did. And she wanted to get back at him for calling her whiny and clingy. However, that would look bad on her father. 

She sipped the broth of the stew before standing up. "May I be excused?" she asked.

Her mother frowned. "Are you already done?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Yes, you may be excused," her father said, focusing his attention back to Hahn. 

She touched Yue's shoulder and smiled before exiting the dining area. She hurried through the main courtyard and stopped short when she saw Master Pakku and his students practicing. Navrek stood in front of Pakku, looking down at his boots. She changed course and stood directly behind Pakku. Navrek finally noticed her, and his eyes widened.

"Yes, Navrek?" Pakku asked. His tone sounded very disappointed, and she knew Navrek messed up on his waterbending training.

"Hello, Princess Eimi," Navrek answered.

Pakku turned around and bowed to her. "Princess Eimi," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Navrek," she answered him. "Can I take him for a little bit?"

Pakku didn't look too happy about that, but he nodded. She slipped her arm through Navrek's and lead him away from the others who were practicing with Pakku. 

"Yes?" Navrek asked.

"Not here," she muttered. 

He nodded in understanding. He was the one of the only people who truly knew her. She loved him like she loved no one else. But it wasn't a romantic love. No, she loved him almost like a brother. He was there for her whenever she needed him.

She stopped walking when she made it to her room. She hoped people wouldn't walk in on them together. Her father didn't allow boys in their bedrooms. 

"You can talk to me now," he said gently. "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe she agreed to marry the meathead."

He chuckled. "It's not your life, Eimi. You don't have to talk to him."

"But I still want a relationship with my sister," she argued. "Why couldn't you ask for her hand in marriage? I like you so much more than him."

His cheeks flushed. "I don't care about Yue like that."

"And?" She sighed and plopped down on her bed. He sat down next to him, his hands fidgeting together. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry for saying that."

"It's fine," he replied. He bumped his shoulder against her. "But I do know how you feel about Hahn. He's a jerk."

"At least you see it." She paused and dropped her head to her hands. "Everyone here sees his looks, not his personality."

"He's not even that cute," he said sharply. "Right?" he asked after a second.

"I mean, he is pretty easy on the eyes," she replied. "But he ruins it every time he opens his mouth."

Navrek couldn't meet her eyes. "I guess I could see it."

Navrek was also pretty cute. His hair was cropped close to his scalp, and his eyes were the same color as the sea. He had high cheekbones that cast shadows on his lips. 

"Does that bruise your male ego?" she asked teasingly. 

"No."

He laughed with her. It felt good to laugh with someone who cared about her. 

"I can't believe Yue's sixteenth birthday is next week," she said softly after her laughter subsided. "And my fifteenth birthday will be right after hers."

"Yeah, you're still a little girl!" he teased, ruffling her hair. 

"Being seventeen doesn't justify touching the princess's hair," she replied with a smile. 

"What does justify it?"

"Being my best friend."

"I'll take it."

Eimi sighed again. "I guess I can't change the mindset of everyone here. I have to go along with these sexist ideas."

"I have a feeling that things are going to change," Navrek said, nodding. "They're going to change very soon."

"You and your gut feelings." She smiled and shook her head. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Hey, I had a feeling your father would choose Hahn to be Yue's betrothed," he said, nodding. "I was right there."

"We all knew he was going to do that."

Navrek scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever."

Eimi grinned, shoving him slightly. "You can believe what you want."

Suddenly, someone pushed through the cloth that separated her room from the hallway. Eimi immediately recognized Yue's white hair.

"Eimi -" Yue paused when she saw Navrek sitting next to her. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Eimi said, glancing at Navrek. "He was just about to go back to practicing waterbending with Master Pakku. Right?"

He stared at her for a second. "Right. I'll talk to you later."

He raised his hand to Yue before exiting her room. Yue raised her eyebrows. "What was he doing in your room?"

"We were talking," Eimi said, nodding. 

"About?"

"That meathead you call your betrothed."

Yue rolled her eyes. "Eimi. You need to let it go. It's my life."

"Fine." But she wouldn't allow her father to arrange a marriage for her. She wouldn't allow it. "Is that the only reason you came here?"

Yue's eyes lit up. "We are planning my birthday party."

"Right now?" Eimi asked, frowning. "Shouldn't it already be planned?"

"With the betrothal and all, we forgot to plan it."

Eimi sighed, shaking her head. "You can come tell me what we're doing for your birthday. I don't want to be in the same room with that meat head."

"Your loss," Yue said, sniffing. "I'll see you later, sister."

Eimi laid back on her bed, feeling slightly bad about blowing her sister off. But then she thought about Hahn and the bad feelings floated away. She didn't need to be there to plan her birthday party; instead, she'd do something special for Yue.