Trickle [Sokka - Book One]

⚝Chapter Eleven⚝

Eimi paced in a straight line in her bedroom. She was probably wearing a hole in the floor, but she didn't care. If she paced hard enough, maybe she could crawl under the palace and escape. But then she'd have to explain to Yue why she was leaving. 

She sighed, rubbing a hand across her face. She had no idea what she wanted to do anymore. Her life wasn't going in the direction she wanted it to go. Well, she didn't know where she wanted her life to go, but this wasn't it. 

Eimi fell onto her bed, covering her face. She didn't want to leave her room to face her father, but she didn't want to stay in her room, either. She wanted to talk to Navrek, but she didn't think her father would allow her to see him. She took one arm off of her face and pulled a blanket over her body. 

"Are you busy?" 

Eimi opened her eyes and saw Yue standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She looked confused and upset, so Eimi nodded, sitting up. Yue walked slowly toward her bed like she didn't know what to do before sitting down next to Eimi. 

"What's wrong?" Eimi asked immediately. Yue wouldn't be acting like that if there wasn't something wrong. She was usually sure of herself, but the unsteady steps told Eimi she was so unsure of something. "Yue?"

Yue sighed and leaned against Eimi. Eimi wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder slowly. "I'm very confused," Yue whispered. 

"About?"

"You know what I'm confused about, Eimi."

She nodded. "Yes. But I don't know why you're confused."

Yue looked at Eimi, her eyebrows knitting together. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Absolutely." Eimi took her hand off of Yue's shoulder so she could face her. "You know I hate Hahn. You can do so much better than him. Sokka is better than him." Yue was silent for the longest time. Eimi knew that she couldn't turn away her arranged marriage. But they weren't married yet. "What Hahn doesn't know won't hurt him," she continued. "But if you are confused, then stay away from Sokka. This has only started since he got here."

"Where did this Eimi come from?" Yue teased with a slight giggle. However, she turned serious and said, "I don't want to hurt Hahn or Sokka. I don't know what to do."

Eimi shrugged. "Me either. Father thinks I'm a girl with a simple mind so don't ask me what to do about it."

Yue noticed the bitter tone in Eimi's voice. Who could miss it? Hahn probably would have heard it, and he was a meathead. "I heard the argument from my room," she said. "What was it all about?"

"What do you think?" 

"Was it because of your views on how women should be treated?"

"First of all, it's not a view," Eimi said, pointing. "It's my life and we deserve to be treated like the men here. Second of all, it started with Navrek."

"Really? What happened?"

Eimi told her how the two of them fell asleep together and how her father found them. The anger rushed back into her bones when she talked about the argument. She was still angry about it. 

"You two fell asleep together?" Yue wasn't focusing on the thing that Eimi wanted her to. She heard the part about how her and Navrek did that, and her mind went and created their wedding already. 

"Yue," Eimi said. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about Father."

"Yes, that can wait," she said, a smile finding its way onto her face. "You and Navrek . . . Huh, do you like him?"

"What?" Eimi asked, her cheeks glowing softly. "No. Yue, stop thinking about that. I'm mad about -"

"You so do!" she said, poking Eimi in the ribs. "Your cheeks are living proof of it!"

"No!" Eimi said, furiously shaking her head. "No. Never. Stop it, Yue. Stop smiling."

Yue looked so beautiful when she smiled. Eimi couldn't help but smile, either. She missed time with her sister, especially with them both growing up. She wished they were still young so they could have more time together. 

"Eimi, you have to admit that he's cute," Yue said.

"Fine. He is cute. I already told him that."

"You did what?" Yue said loudly. Eimi slapped a hand over her mouth to stop the words before they could release. 

"We were teasing each other, and I called him cute. He did the same thing to me. That's it."

Eimi released her hand, and Yue was silent for a second. She knew that she was thinking about her and Navrek. "We both know that he has feelings for you," Yue finally said, hitting Eimi on the arm before she could speak. "Maybe he already approached Father to ask for your hand in marriage."

"I'm only going to be fifteen," Eimi said. "So, no, he probably hasn't. Besides, he's just my friend. I don't feel anything for him."

"You feel something for him."

Eimi sighed. "Fine. I feel a little flutter in my heart every time I look at him."

Yue smiled since she was right. Eimi didn't like admitting that little piece of information. She didn't want to focus on boys until her other needs were met. The Girl was the deepest part of her being. The Warrior was more important to her.

"I knew it!" Yue said, nodding. "Ah, it feels so good to be right."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to do anything about it," Eimi said in a rush. "I don't want to do anything about it. He's my best friend, and that's it. Nothing more."

"Why?"

Eimi knew why. Or she thought she did. But the words spilling out of her mouth proved her wrong. "I don't want to ruin anything with him," she said softly. "And besides, what if there's another guy?"

"Ooh, who?" Yue asked.

"No one."

"You just said there might be someone else."

"I'm not going to tell you. It might be false."

"Come on, Eimi!" Yue whined. "You can tell me. I'm your sister!"

"I'm not going to say another word." Eimi mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key. Yue rolled her eyes.

"Fine, Eimi," she said, standing up. "Bye."

"Wait!" Eimi jumped up and latched onto Yue's arm. "Don't leave."

Yue turned around with a triumphant smile. "I knew you wouldn't let me go. You've always been like that. You hate it when I get mad at you."

Eimi nodded. "Yes, so don't be mad because I'm not telling you. Besides, you're one of the only people I can really talk to."

"That's true." Eimi pulled Yue back inside her room and they sat back down on her bed. Yue was silent for a beat before saying, "You know, I don't really like the traditions here, either."

"Really?"

"Yes. I just don't say anything because I'm afraid."

Eimi was surprised. It seemed like Yue was never afraid of anything. "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid of making a fool of myself. I'm obviously not as into it as you, so I wouldn't know what to say."

"Yue, I'm terrified, too," Eimi said. "That's why I don't say anything. Most of the time, I hide behind my walls."

"Walls? What do you mean?" Yue asked.

"Nothing."

"Even if we can't get what we want," Yue said softly, "we're still together. As long as we're together, we can do anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything."