The next day…

              The Great Queen Hyoyeon smiled in delight as she sat down at the far end of the long, grand, mahogany palace dinner table. The chamber was spacious and airy, designed to echo voices from one end of the table to another. That way, no one has to shout like barbarians to be heard. Sitting in line by the right side of the table were her guests—the Avatar and her supposed “royal subjects,” Queen Hyoyeon’s two siblings from the Xiah Dragon Noodles, and her new trainee, Yuri. (Oddly, Minho was nowhere in sight.) Straight across the Queen was King Eunhyuk, smiling and ready to entertain some guests. Eunuchs, court ladies, and Kyungsoo—the loyal page—was waiting close by, in case anyone needed anything.

              Then when everyone was quite settled down, King Eunhyuk stood up and ordered the guards and the palace maids, “Please leave us. We’d like to have a private meal. All of you may go, except Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo always stays with me.” Soon, all the other servants left, except Kyungsoo.

              “Alright, you may all relax for now. You’re all safe for now,” Hyoyeon greeted everyone with a smile. “Let’s all discuss shall we?”

              “Ugh, finally,” Princess Sica grumbled. Queen Hyoyeon just smiled after seeing how uncomfortable she was.

              “About Amber…,” Yuri bravely spoke. “I think she’s…”

              Queen Hyoyeon noted Yuri’s hesitation and quickly cut her off to say, “Oh don’t worry about her. I believe I am handling the situation quite well with her. She’s not here in the palace anymore.”

              “What did you do exactly?” Sica asked, shocked that Hyoyeon was already one step ahead of them.

              “Let me explain…”

***

24 hours ago…

              “Hello Amber, I see you’re training really hard,” Queen Hyoyeon greeted when she arrived at her apprentices’ rocky training grounds.

              Amber just bowed a full 90 degrees and the stood up straight.

              “I have a private assignment for you today.” The Queen then motioned for the young earth bender to follow her into a private building hall and talked with her there.

              “What is it, Your Majesty?”

              “I heard that some rebels have harmed my younger brother.”

               There was an obvious glint in the Queen’s eyes that was hard to miss. She seemed to be planning something that made Amber’s heart pound faster in guilt. What if Key had recognized me that night when I attacked with Tao and he told Junsu about it? No, Tao shot him a poison dart. He should have died before he ever could tell Junsu about it… Trying to sound naïve enough to fool the Queen, Amber replied, “Oh dear, was it serious?”

              Without answering Amber’s question, the Queen just sternly commanded, “You are assigned to hunt after those rebels. I want you to look for them, and don’t come back unless you find them. I know you’re capable.” Actually, the Queen’s plan was to let Amber move on her own while having someone spy on her. This was to know if Amber had anymore comrades and how much stronger they are all together. The Queen also wanted to know Amber’s exact plans first before the Queen would strike.

              Oh no, Amber thought as she stood there before the Queen who have turned into an intimidatingly furious older sister. “Don’t come back unless you find them”? That doesn’t sound good. Does that mean that she’s suspecting me now? Did my plans with Yifan fail?

              Amber left the palace right away to “investigate.” Of course, there was nothing to investigate at all since she was basically one of the culprits that needed to be turned over. She definitely won’t turn herself in—that’s out of the question. Now what?

              Time to talk to Yifan again. Little did she know that Choi Minho was sent after her to secretly watch her every move.

***        

Present Time

              After that dinner with the Earth King and Queen, Taeyeon and her little “minions” followed loyal page Kyungsoo to the special guest house especially prepared for them in the palace compound. (Junsu and Soo-Young went back to the restaurant, but Key stayed in the palace with Taeyeon and the others.) Just like the Royal Garden Villas in the Fire Nation, this special housing was in the midst of a beautiful orchard garden filled with all kinds of fruit trees. All of them found it very appealing and homey. The huge gold-painted villa was very spacious and fully furnished, yet void of servants. Queen Hyoyeon did not send servants other than Kyungsoo to accompany them just in case there will be more hidden rebels like Amber.

              “You know, after all these times of hanging around royalty, I still don’t think I’ll ever get used to this lavishness,” Taeyeon said as she admired the intricate ceramic pottery displayed at one corner of the huge living room hall. Meanwhile, Yuri and Yoona are in the dining area with watering mouths upon having found the pre-prepared snacks laid on the long table…

              “Yeah, me too,” Seohyun agreed while she and Prince Yonghwa helped the weak Key sit on one of the recliners. “I feel like I’m being greedy when there are people out there in need…”

              “I’m used to it.” Sica immediately flung herself on the comfy green recliners in the middle of the living room and lay there with her sister Krystal. These two felt like they were back in heaven after going through so much hell. From the ridiculous, slothful way they lay there, they don’t even look like respectable royalties anymore. Their secretary couldn’t help but just roll his eyes and look away.

              Trying to get everyone’s attention, loyal page Kyungsoo cleared his throat and said, “This is where you will all stay for now, except for three people. Avatar Taeyeon, Miss Yuri, and Miss Yoona will have to move to the spiral training dorm tomorrow for their earthbending training with Her Highness, the Great Hyoyeon.”

              “What?” Sica reacted. “If Taeyeon is moving there, I’m coming too.”

              “The Queen thought so that Her Highness Sica might retort to this, therefore, the Queen ordered to ban her and her siblings from leaving the premises of this orchard garden to meet the Avatar in the earthbending training grounds. And unfortunately, it has always been against the palace rules to enter the apprentice training grounds unless one is an apprentice or permitted by the Queen herself. The ban is for your safety as well, Your Highness.”

              “You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s not like I’m some weakling who needs to be protected,” Sica said, obviously upset. “And why is the airbender going with her?”

              “I asked Hyoyeon to let her stay with me for my air bending training,” Taeyeon spoke up. “Besides, there’s no harm in that. Nobody’s looking to kill her anyway. Don’t worry; I’ll visit here often for waterbending training.”

***

              Amber, who was disguised in her black hood, walked around the Lower Ring to look for Yifan, but couldn’t find him. He wasn’t really easy to find during daylight. Usually he wasn’t even in Ba Sing Se because he was busy doing other things. After walking in an aimless drift, Amber suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar, lowly wall guard—Onew. He was positioned all alone in this neglected part of the city as usual. The other day, she bluffed that she would kill him if he won’t help to look for Water Tribe royalties, and he easily got scared. Maybe she can bribe or threaten him again in case he would have some news.

              Upon approaching the scrawny guy with zero self-esteem, he almost jumped in surprise. Amber still looked quite scary to him. He really didn’t want to see her at all especially since he just helped the Water Tribe royalties escape. Lying isn’t one of his best skills either. “A-a-amber! I…”

              “Do you have any news on those people I asked you to find?” Amber asked, leaning by the wall that separated the Lower Ring from the Middle Ring.

              Onew swallowed the terrible lump in his throat. He could feel his arm shaking. He didn’t want to say anything that might betray him. He so badly at lying. Amber can immediately see through him. There was no escape from her. But I vowed not to betray my friends…

              “Well, did you see them or not?” Amber asked again, since he wasn’t speaking.

              “I… I still have work to do,” he said, trying to get away from her, but she would not buy it.

              Amber quickly pulled the ground Onew was stepping on to move him closer to her reach. Then she grabbed his collar from the back and threw him against the wall. Examining his fearful expression, Amber whispered, “Come on, don’t let this be your end. What’s wrong with helping me just a little bit?”

              Without being careful, he lied as he trembled, “I d-don’t know where they are.”

              Amber stepped on his foot, making him wince in pain. “Don’t lie! You know very well I can break your bones into pieces!”

              “They’re not here anymore!” Onew finally blurted out. “They’re in the Upper Ring because I helped them! I’m so sorry…”

              In frustration, Amber threw Onew to the ground and shot a rock at him. He did not fight back though. He just protected himself by raising up a rock shield from the ground before the rock hit him. Then Amber grabbed Onew and bound him in metal chains from a nearby house, dragging him underground with her. (Earthbenders can do short-distance “teleporting” by moving underground.) Minho saw it all from the rooftop of a nearby house and continued following Amber’s trail.

***

              After Kyungsoo left, Secretary Yoochun prepared a letter to be sent to the North Pole to tell them about what had happened lately and to possibly warn them of rebels that might attack the palace. They don’t really know yet if this coup to overthrow the Water Tribe government will actually take place, but better safe than sorry. Ginger immediately soared off into the skies with the letter on his back to deliver it. Hopefully they get the message in time and that nothing bad has happened back home.

              Other than sending the letter, the group staying in the orchard guest house pretty much just rested and played around all day. Princess Sica, as expected, did nothing more than sleep all day while Yoona entertained Krystal with all the interesting stories of her adventures with her bison Yoongsan. Since the restaurant needed protection and extra hands, Secretary Yoochun voluntarily went back to the Xiah Dragon Noodles to help Junsu. As for the Avatar, Taeyeon wandered around the guest house in boredom. Yuri also followed close by. She wanted to apologize to her about how Soo-Young stole the invitations for the King and Queen’s Coronation Party a long time ago, but never really found the time to talk to the Avatar about it. Now that she knew the Avatar in person, she did not seem to be as scary she and Soo-Young imagined her to be. In fact, the Avatar seemed to be quite odd and childish in person. She was actually even more of a normal human than the Water Tribe princesses.

              “Hey, Avatar,” Yuri said, trying to get her attention.

              Taeyeon stopped walking until Yuri caught up to her. Then they continued walking around the house together. “What’s up?”

              “There’s something that I really need to tell you,” Yuri said. “I want to say sorry.”

              “For what?”

              “Do you remember back then at the time of the Coronation Party? My friend Soo-Young stole your invitations while you were eating with the other Fire Nation Princesses at the restaurant. I was just really desperate at that time, and I really wanted to train with Queen Hyoyeon…”

              “It’s alright,” Taeyeon said with a shrug. “Just don’t steal again, I guess.” Then Taeyeon continued walking as if it was nothing. Yuri couldn’t believe how cool she was. Yuri seemed to feel this odd air of admirable calmness around the Avatar. She was now star stuck.

              Then Taeyeon peeked into an open room and saw Seohyun and Yonghwa sitting so close together while muttering a few giggles. She then stepped into the room and looked around on purpose to bother the couple. “You guys, what the hell are you both doing?”

              Yonghwa immediately distanced himself from Seohyun upon seeing the Avatar. Seohyun, however, just innocently answered her question. “Oh, Taeyeon Eonni! Yong Oppa and I were just reading this funny book together.”

              The room was actually a small library with two huge shelves of story books. Obviously, Seohyun would be the first to find this gem in the guest house. Books always seem to find her. And of course, her boyfriend had to stick close by…

              Finally, the excited young lady stood up from her seat beside Yonghwa and skipped to Taeyeon and Yuri to show the Avatar what she was reading. “I’m sure you’ll find this interesting. It’s a book about Avatar Leeteuk’s adventures! Oh, he’s quite a funny guy! Perhaps you might be illuminated on his character here. You do dream about him sometimes, right?”

              Taeyeon blankly accepted the book titled, Teuk Teuk Teuk by an unknown writer and stared at it for a while. She seemed a little scared to open it—afraid of the secrets that it might unravel concerning her, but soon enough, she sat down with Yuri, Seohyun, and Yonghwa in the library and read a random passage out loud.

***

Teuk’s Giant Egg

              Once as Teuk, in his youthful days, journeyed through the mountains, Teuk and Horse Boy came across a giant egg of bizarre warmth and peculiar texture. Teuk held the egg upon his palm and marveled, “Oh what great breakfast shall be made of such egg!”

              “You fool,” says his trusted friend Horse Boy. “I am vegetarian. Eggs shall not consist at all of my meals! Partake of it I shall not! Now replace it where it has been found, else trouble might haunt us again.”

              Teuk, as adventurous and free-spirited as he was (worse than most young air nomads and Earth Kingdom street children of the day), ignored his dear friend’s warning and laughed a hearty one, “Don’t say that such muscular figure was achieved with no such protein! Take it I shall, and hatch it I will, if my comrade won’t partake of it!”

              Horse Boy cannot be convinced easily, however. “What of it, if such abominable creature might come forth, and partake of you as the beast’s supper? You do not know where the mother of such egg came from! The mother could very well be the monstrous legend of a cockatrice!”

              “Worry not, my dear Horse Boy! Perish by beast shall I not, nor digested as beast’s feed shall I not; for I am the mighty Avatar!”

              And then so, Teuk held with him the egg until it has hatched into a wonderful creature he had never seen before. Unlike what Horse Boy suspected, the creature had not taken Teuk as its supper. Teuk has cherished the creature for it was darling and quite affectionate. Days passed and Teuk set it free in the mountains. The creature was ever thankful and Teuk continued with his journeys.

***

              “Aww, Avatar Leeteuk was so adorable and funny!” Yuri exclaimed after hearing about the short tale. She seemed to admire just about anything. “What creature hatched from the egg exactly?”

              Taeyeon flipped to the next page, also curious as to what had hatched from the egg, but instead, the next story involved Teuk and Horse Boy’s tree climbing activities and failed attempts on air bending. “It doesn’t say anything here. It just says ‘the creature’ a lot. Besides, what kinda friend is Horse Boy?”

              Seohyun shrugged and replied, “I don’t know. Yong Oppa and I have been reading it for a while, but there was really no hint on who or what Horse Boy is. It’s just old written tales from Avatar Leeteuk’s childhood anyway.”

              “He’s probably half-boy half-horse,” Yonghwa chuckled. “If such a thing exists.”

              Later, Taeyeon continued reading the book even until it was late at night and had to read by candlelight. Just as Seohyun said, the whole book was filled with nothing but a compilation of mindless nonsense that Avatar Leeteuk had done back when he was training. It had tales of him accidentally burning his clothes during fire bending, almost drowning while waterbending training, and of course, the great difficulties of not being able to airbend—most written in a humorous manner. Throughout his adventures, he always had the so called “Horse Boy” to accompany him and to keep him from messing up. All the chapters seemed to end in a happy note too, even after he would mess up or fail. Avatar Leeteuk seemed to always find something humorous about situations too. This man definitely lived an easy life, Taeyeon thought.

              As Taeyeon kept reading late into the night, her eyelids began to feel quite heavy and soon, she was yawning and resting her head on the table. She was too sleepy to read further. In a few moments, drowsiness took its toll. Taeyeon was off to sleep. Off… to… sleep…

              Slowly, Taeyeon was conscious again in this world of haze—the world of her dreams. Here we go again… In that haze, Taeyeon saw a familiar face at a distance, standing above what seemed to be a balcony from the Fire Nation Palace. Unfortunately, no matter how familiar that face was, she could not quite figure out who it was. He looked young and full of ambition. He was well-built and dressed like royalty. I have seen him before, but who is he?

              As Taeyeon was trying her best to get a good view of the man standing so far away, she noticed that a bowl of kimchi soup was right there before her, as if waiting for her to take a sip. As if everything was in slow motion, Taeyeon took the spoon and took a sip. In that instant the flavors touched her lips, she suddenly saw all the horrible memories of her childhood replaying before her eyes: her mother’s death, her brother leaving her… These horrible nightmares never seem to end… but wait. The man standing on the balcony was now right before her with a smirk spread on his dark expression. Then he whispered, “Goodbye, Avatar.”

              Before she could even process any of that, a dragon suddenly appeared and swallowed the man whole, scaring the startled Taeyeon and causing her to wake up.

              “Wha…what the heck?” Taeyeon said in a rather confused and troubled tone.

              Her roommate Yoona rolled and stretched and groaned upon hearing Taeyeon’s voice. Then she slowly opened her eyes to look at Taeyeon, who was sitting by the desk with her hand on her forehead, feeling rather dazed. “Eonni, are you okay?” Yoona asked with a yawn.

              Taeyeon, who was definitely unable to put to words what she just dreamt about, just replied with, “No, it’s fine… I’m fine…” Then she blew out the candlestick and lay on an empty bed in the room she shared with Yoona. Ignoring Taeyeon, Yoona just went back to sleep.

The insomniac Avatar, however, had a bit of trouble sleeping again. Now she has a new question running in her head. Who was that guy and why is he so familiar? Oh right! He looks a lot like… the Firelord… No wait, he looks more like…my dad? Taeyeon sat back up and scratched her head. Now that she was thinking about him, she had another question running through her head: Whatever happened to Father after the eruption? Did he die too? Searching her memories of that day, she remembered that her father wasn’t home. He left with her brother Jaejoong and his apprentice blacksmith Yunho before she even saw them leave. But Jaejoong Oppa is alive—that’s for sure. I suppose he could still be alive as well? But why in the world would I dream about a scary, younger man who looks so much like my father?

***

              Minho, also disguised in a dark-green hood with a black mask covering his face, faithfully followed the Queen’s orders to spy on Amber even until late that night. He honestly had no idea why the Queen wanted him—of all people—to spy on Amber, but he did it anyway. The Queen was honestly in doubt of all the other people in the palace so she sent Minho because she knew that Key and Minho had been friends since they were little. Plus, he even helped the Water Tribe princesses. She knew his loyalty wouldn’t waver.

              For hours, Amber just stood by an alley where people rarely pass by as if waiting for something. At about midnight when there was no one outside to see her anymore, Amber suddenly lifted the cobblestone layer of the dimly lit street. Beneath the street was a secret staircase that led underground. Amber immediately went in and closed the passage. So as not to be noticed, Minho waited for a few more minutes before entering the secret stairway himself. When he finally went in, it was a pitch black dark sewer passage. There were no lanterns, torches, or candles. It was impossible to see in there with his eyes. Oddly, he could see some tiny, sparkling objects on the floor. Being drawn by the littlest of light, Minho walked over to the closest gleaming dot and found out that it was a sparkling gem. Those gems seemed to be positioned there as a guide. All he had to do was follow them in the labyrinth of the sewer. After walking for about ten minutes into the sewer, he realized that there were no more gems to follow. Is this it? Minho asked himself. Then he tapped the stone wall and felt that it was hollow behind it in this particular area. Upon opening the wall with his earthbending, he found another secret passage—this time, lit by a line of torches. At the end was a closed metal door that was constructed very differently from Earth Kingdom doors; it looked foreign. Echoes of voices were coming from the closed chamber.

              Amber, who was inside the chamber, went to greet the aloof Yifan sitting on his worn-out sofa and eating exotic fire flakes while thinking of a plan. Amber appeared to be rather distressed, making Yifan look at her in disgust. Then he said, “You did something wrong, didn’t you?”

              “I think the Queen is starting to suspect me,” she said as calmly as possible.

              “Is that so?” The firebender’s reaction to her news sounded too nonchalant. He did not seem to care much. “I told you not to be careless.”

              “She wants me to hunt down the people who attacked Key. And not come back to training until I find them. Now what?”

              Kris Yifan just sat there in thought for a while before answering her. He slowly chewed his snack like cud and swallowed it in one gulp. Then he asked, “Did you hear any news about the Water Tribe folks?”

              “They’re in the Upper Ring already. They might even be protected by the Queen already. I’m sorry I was too late.”

              Amber expected him to be upset, but instead, he just asked different question, “Have you heard that the Avatar’s in town?”

              “No… That’s bad news isn’t it?”

              “According to my sources, she’s useless,” Yifan said nonchalantly. Then he looked at an hourglass and said, “Just go and lie low for a while. Now leave. I have a guess coming soon.”

              “What guest?”

              “Just go.” Kris got up and led Amber to the door.

              Meanwhile, Minho, who was still listening, heard footsteps coming from the long hall. To hide himself, he quickly carved a small opening on the wall and encased himself in rock. He was basically hiding in the wall but left a very small unnoticeable slit in the rock by his eyes for him to see what was happening. Soon, someone new—also covered by a shabby hood—came in from outside. The new guy knocked on the metal door four times. Then the door opened and Amber went out. She blankly stared at the new guy and tried to look at his face, but she continued walking out and the man went into the metal chamber. Who could that be? Minho asked. Amber was also asking herself the same thing. Who was that man?

              “Ah, Your Highness, welcome,” Kris greeted upon seeing the hooded man take off his cover. He was very young, probably a little older than Krystal, but his expression was so stern and nervous. Kris examined him well, looking over the kid’s rugged features, while the guy just eyed him in distrust. Then Yifan ruffled and messed up the young man’s hair with a satisfied smirk on his face.

              “Get your hands off me,” the young man said in annoyance.

              “Ooh, a feisty one, I see,” Kris shot back.

              The guy just ignored Kris’ comment and walked over to the worn-out leather sofa and seated himself as if he was claiming his well-deserved rights as royalty. Then he asked, “Can you really do it?”

              “Do what? Make you king? Don’t doubt me. It’ll be my pleasure.”

              “And if I kill King Eunhyuk, my own brother, you’ll guarantee that I won’t take the blame for it? You’ll really give me the throne? What about Queen Hyoyeon?” The young man sounded doubtful, yet rather desperate. He did not trust Yifan fully either.

              “As long as you want that power enough to get rid of your brother, that throne is yours. You don’t have to worry about a thing,” Yifan assured him with a subtle smirk. This was part of the annihilation group’s plan also. But of course, Yifan isn’t going to tell him the whole plan. He was just going to tell him enough of the plan so that he can use this desperate little prince.

              At this point, Minho was frightened. He knew King Eunhyuk had two brothers, and they’re identical twins named Taemin and Jongin. As for which twin is planning on treason, he doesn’t know. He has never met either of them in person.

***

              Early the next morning, Taeyeon went back to that small library to look for more books on Avatar Leeteuk because those short funny tales were not enough to show his actual legacy. Surprisingly, or maybe not that surprisingly, Seohyun was back there at the library too. When she saw Taeyeon, she immediately lit up with an adorable, bubbly smile. “Good morning Taeyeon Eonni!”

              “You look like you had a good sleep,” Taeyeon said, trying not to sound too lifeless and cranky.

              “Oh, yes, I did,” Seohyun said with an even wider smile that totally looked strange to Taeyeon but she just ignored it. “What about you, Eonni? You don’t look too well…”

              “Horrible dreams…”

              “Oh no, not that again,” Seohyun whined. Then she put down the book she was reading and picked up something else on the bookshelf. Oddly, Taeyeon could not help but notice the book Seohyun put down. The title says, “The Wisdom of Love and Romance.” Wow, Seohyun reads this stuff now?

              “I read this a while ago, and thought it might be interesting to you,” Seohyun said as she browsed through the book. Then she showed Taeyeon the cover. The Life and Legacy of Avatar Leeteuk. Then Seohyun continued, “It turns out that the egg Avatar Leeteuk cared for was actually a dragon’s egg. As for Horse Boy, he’s actually an airbender. No wonder he was vegetarian and did not want to eat the egg.”

              “A dragon’s egg? You mean like Fire Nation dragons?”

              “I guess so,” Seohyun said with a nod. “It says he found it in the mountains of the Fire Nation and took really good care of it until he set it free. The Fire Sages agreed that he had such a kind heart to be able to hatch and befriend such a creature. You can read it and find out things for yourself. It’s pretty fascinating.”

              Taeyeon became thoughtful for a second and then she said, “Seohyun, do you think maybe the dragon that appeared to me on the night of the volcanic eruption was actually Avatar Leeteuk’s dragon?”

              “I think that would be amazing if it’s true,” Seohyun said. “I’ve read somewhere that dragons live for long period of time—much longer than human lifespans. And I’ve also read that they were smart, but if they even recognize the next Avatar, they must be more amazing than I could imagine!”

              “There’s only one thing that bothers me,” Taeyeon said as she took the book and flipped through the pages. “That dragon is always scary in my dreams…”

              “Oh yeah, by the way, it also says in this book that nobody knew how Avatar Leeteuk died. It was said that he was last seen in the Fire Nation after a trip to greet Firelord Sooman. After meeting the Firelord, Avatar Leeteuk disappeared and nobody saw him again.”

              “Really?” Taeyeon took the book and flipped it to the last few pages. The estimated date of Avatar Leeteuk’s disappearance was around the time Firelord Sooman died. So Firelord Sooman has met with Avatar Leeteuk… If I could only speak to my past lives, I may be able to find out details from those days that Sunny has been so thoroughly investigating. Avatar Leeteuk might know something about Firelord Sooman and the rebellious Crown Prince! But I have to figure out how to do that first… Ugh, this is frustrating…

***        

              Later that day, the Great Hyoyeon stood before all the other apprentices at the flat training courtyard to introduce Avatar Taeyeon and Yuri as new trainees. Yoona also came with them and introduced herself as Taeyeon’s airbending teacher. Taeyeon was actually shocked to see the other apprentices. None of them looked huge, tough, and scary like she imagined the elite earthbenders to be. In fact most of them were quite young. But don’t let those kids fool you; they were all definitely talented and well-trained, just like Amber. Apparently, Hyoyeon’s choice of people was not of strength and pride. She chose her apprentices by their potential and willpower. When she chose Amber, she saw that she had that burning will for something and really wanted to make it, and yet she did not choose Minho because he did not want this badly enough and didn’t believe that he can make it. As for Yuri, the Great Hyoyeon did not choose her because she wanted to test her patience. Besides, Junsu needed workers, so Hyoyeon would rather not give her brother a hard time by taking Yuri away from him. When the time is right, Hyoyeon really wanted to train Yuri. And now is the right time.

              After that Hyoyeon took Taeyeon, Yuri, and Yoona near a private gazebo in one of her many gardens so she can discuss with them. “So Taeyeon and Yuri, welcome to training!” The Queen said with the biggest, happiest smile despite all that happened lately. “Are you both ready?”

              “Yes, Your Highness!” Yuri exclaimed immediately.

              “I guess,” Taeyeon said rather lifelessly. She didn’t get a good sleep last night.

              “Yah, Kim Taeyeon,” the Queen said with her sharp tongue. “I don’t care if you’re the Avatar or whatever, but as my apprentice, I will not accept lack of eagerness!” Then Hyoyeon stomped her foot, and before Taeyeon knew it, a rock the size of a football was already heading her to her face. As a reflex, Taeyeon quickly moved to the right and blew off the rock with her fire bending to deflect it away.

              “What the heck was that?!” Taeyeon said, feeling annoyed that Hyoyeon was surprising her out of nowhere.

              Queen Hyoyeon just gleefully laughed with her low, rough chortles and said with great authority, “Good, good, I guess you are awake after all! Now if you could be more passionate like Yuri over here, you can master earth bending in no time. If you’re not, well, you’re never going to master this. I only train those who really want it. So set your mind straight on your goals and stand firm on them!”

              “Haha, you’re awesome,” Yoona said to the Queen rather casually. “I’ll need to learn to be a teacher like you!”

              Suddenly, they saw someone tall running straight to them. Yuri immediately recognized who it was. “Minho?”

              When Minho reached them he immediately bowed down to the Queen and said, “I have some grievous news. One of King Eunhyuk’s brothers is planning on stealing the crown! He has partnered with the ones who are planning on getting rid of the Water Tribe royalties!”                                                                   

Author's Note:

I'll reveal the details of the evil guys' plans and identities in the next chapters. I'm sure some of you have already tried putting those many little hints together and are already taking guesses.