“Aish!” Soo-Young muttered as she panted for air. “I feel so terribly guilty right now, and it’s all because of that Yuri-kid’s fault.”

            With her heart beating like crazy and her long legs working as hard she could force them, Soo-Young sprinted through the Upper Ring. In no time she reached the wall that separated the Upper Ring from the Middle Ring. The earth bending guards opened up a dent for her to pass, and she immediately passed through. She continued running through the streets until she reached Yuri’s rented house. After straightening up and catching her breath, she obnoxiously knocked—more like constantly slammed—her fist on the wooden door.

            “Hey Yuri, open up!!!” Soo-Young screamed. Everyone else in the neighborhood thought she was some psychopathic maniac.

            All of a sudden the door opened, and it was not the person Soo-Young wanted to see. An old lady appeared in the open door. She was probably the owner of the house.

            “Your friend Yuri ain’t livin’ here no more! Kicked her out ‘cause she ain’t payin’ rent! Now go bother someone else!” The woman then slammed the door to Soo-Young’s face before she could even say anything.

            “Aish, how rude…,” Soo-Young grumbled. “Now where in giant Ba Sing Se could that punk Yuri have gone?”

            Not knowing where to look for Yuri, Soo-Young just decided to walk home. She just ditched her job before closing time. She cannot go back to work or else Junsu and the rest of the staff would start interrogating her again about her whereabouts. Besides, she just stole not one, but three royal invitations to the grand coronation of the new monarchs from three foreigners. Guilt put her to shame before anyone else even knew about her sins. When she arrived at her own house in the Middle Ring, she saw Yuri sitting dejectedly on the doorstep with her things wrapped in huge blankets. Yup, the kid was kicked out of her house. The two big outcasts ended up in one place.

            “Soo-Young!” Yuri’s face immediately lit up at the sight of Soo-Young approaching her.

            “You idiot,” Soo-Young called back. “I ran to your house and some crabby grandma rudely banged the door to my pretty face, saying she kicked you out. Aish, those terrible manners…”

            Yuri stood up and ran to her with a big warm hug. “I always knew you cared about me!”

            “Hey,” Soo-Young said as she pushed Yuri away. “I need to talk to you. Come into the house with me.”

            Soo-Young dragged Yuri by her arm inside the house, leaving Yuri’s things out in the growing dusk. This time Soo-Young put on a serious face and looked directly into Yuri’s adorable childlike eyes. Yuri stared back at Soo-Young’s big, pretty eyes, giving Soo-Young her full attention.

            “You owe me—big time!” Soo-Young said in a very audible whisper.

            “What are you talking about?” Yuri wondered. Then her eyes sparkled in youthful excitement. “Is it because you’re finally letting me stay in your house?”

            “What? Wait, wait, wait… We’ll talk about that later.” Checking the windows in case anyone was eavesdropping, Soo-Young proceeded to cover them with the light green drapes. She made sure the door was locked too.

            “Oh, my stuff is still outside!” Yuri said trying to stop Soo-Young from locking the door but she was too late.

            “Your stuff can wait! This is important,” Soo-Young said as she took the three royal invitations out of her apron and flashed it before Yuri’s eyes.

            “Whoa,” Yuri uttered in amazement. She honestly had no idea what it was. However, since the golden circle that represented the Earth Kingdom insignia gleamed under the ceiling lamp light, she thought it must be something “important,” as Soo-Young had been saying.

            “Don’t drop your jaw just yet!” Soo-Young held a finger on Yuri’s chin, closing her gaping mouth. “Do you have any idea how I got these?”

            Yuri shook her head. “I don’t have any idea what those are either.”

            “Aish… Here, go open one and read it.” Soo-Young handed one invitation to Yuri for her to read.

            “To…to a dear subject of high nobility or importance to the Earth Kingdom Royal Family,” Yuri started reading. “I, the Royal Highness of the strong and mighty Ba Sing Se and Ruler of the vast and majestic Earth Kingdom, invite you to a grand celebration of historical and political importance…

            “Omo, Soo-Young!” Yuri exclaimed in utter astonishment before she even finished reading the whole invitation. This is a…th-the…H-how did you get this?”

            Soo-Young looked satisfied seeing the dumbfounded expression on Yuri’s face. “Yeah, aren’t I a genius?” she thought to herself, but then guilt started to creep over her as she recalled how she actually obtained—or stole, rather—their tickets to either heaven or hell.

            “I hate to say this, but I stole them when three Fire Nation princesses weren’t looking. I have never stolen from customers in my life, except maybe if you count the times when I eat a piece of dumpling or roast duck before I serve them to the customer… Anyway, I feel guilty and I think I shouldn’t have done it!”

            Yuri’s jaw hung lower after hearing how Soo-Young obtained them. “How could you just steal from foreign princesses!” she loudly exclaimed in shock. Soo-Young immediately covered to shut her up. Then Yuri continued in a lower tone, “They could lock us up in burning hell or kill us with fire…whatever Fire Nation people do with criminals!”

            “I wasn’t thinking at that time! Besides, it was your stupid idea to go to the palace. Now I’m helping you even though I obviously know this just won’t end well. I’m getting into your doomed destination—the black hole—with you! Aish… I have no idea what to do now… Of all the decent people to be friends with, why’d it be have to be someone like you?”

            “Well, since you went through all this trouble, I say we just go with it,” Yuri decided with determination.

            “Wha…wait, you’re really going into the palace?” Soo-Young’s eyes grew bigger.

            “It’s time to go shopping for nice clothes,” Yuri concluded. “But first, let me get my stuff outside before some petty thief could steal it. You’re letting me crash in your place, right?”

            “Just stop using the words ‘steal’ or ‘thief’ please.”

            Just then, there was a knock on the front door. Both of them were easily started, for their guilty consciences made them feel on the edge.

            “Who could that be?” Soo-Young whispered to Yuri.

            “Maybe the Fire Nation royalties found out!” Yuri suggested.

            The knocking became louder. Then a deep voice called out to them from outside saying, “Noona, if you’re in there, open the door!”

            “Oh, it’s just my brother,” Soo-Young sighed in relief. She unlocked the door and opened it to see a tall fourteen-year-old boy dressed in green metal armor with a straw sedge hat hanging on his back by a string around his neck. He looked exhausted and full of sweat. He was even carrying his metal headgear in his arm instead of wearing it. He had the same big, pretty eyes, dark-brown hair, and tan skin just like Soo-Young.

            “Ah, I’m tired and thirsty and you’re not even opening the door…,” complained Soo-Young’s brother.

            Soo-Young cleared . “Sorry.”

            “Hello Minho,” Yuri greeted Soo-Young’s brother. The pitch of her voice went up an octave higher than usual. “Wow, you really have grown a lot since I last saw you. You’re looking very tall, tan, and handsome…”

            “Hey,” Soo-Young hit Yuri’s head with one of the invitations.

            “Ouch…why’d you hit me?”

            “If you’re just here to flirt with my brother, then you might as well just get out,” replied Soo-Young. “Gosh, he’s two years younger than you…”

            “Oh yeah, Yuri Noona, are those things outside yours? Did anything happen?” asked Minho who was completely ignorant of the two noonas dilemma.

            “Oh right, I was just about to get those.” Yuri and Minho headed out to grab her belongings and carried them in together. When they were done, Soo-Young immediately closed the door. Yuri then continued, “I sorta got kicked out ‘cause I wasn’t able to pay rent.”

            “Yup, she’s pathetic, am I right?” Soo-Young snickered. “Anyway, Minho, you arrived just in time.”

            “In time for what?” Minho asked as he took off his armor and sat on the warm wooden floor.

            Soo-Young flashed the royal invitations before Minho’s eyes. His eyes grew wide in shock and his mouth gaped. He knew exactly what it was.

            “Where did you get these?” asked innocent Minho.

            “You don’t have to know.”

            “She stole them from Fire Nation Royals,” Yuri interjected.

            “What!” Minho exclaimed. “Noona, you’re dead! I’ve been training hard to become a Royal Earth-Bending Guard—overworking and sweating and disciplining my body, mind, and soul, and this is what you do? You do realize that war could break out because of this?”

            “War…?” Yuri and Soo-Young stood frozen at Minho’s words.

            “You should return it to them before things get worse!” Minho demanded.

            “No,” Yuri stated firmly. “Look, it was my fault. I don’t mean to hurt anyone; I just want to get into the palace to see Princess Hyoyeon. I just really want to learn earth bending from her! I know you want to learn from her too, Minho. Don’t lie. If you become her apprentice, you won’t become a lowly private in the Royal Guards but a high general! Besides, you’re too paranoid. War? There hasn’t been one in a long time anywhere.”

            “Yes, I know, but still…,” Minho hesitated.

            “So will you help or not?” Soo-Young asked.

            “Fine. I will help, because I really want to learn from Hyoyeon too, but we need good clothes for the party,” Minho finally agreed. “I know just where to get them—for free.”

***

            There were four more days before the coronation of Hyoyeon and Eunhyuk, and the three Fire Nation Royalties were just hanging out in their residence house. Firelord Soon-Jae grew bored too, that he often told them fairytales. The Firelord was a really good storyteller, and the princesses enjoyed listening to tales of dragons, spirits, and parallel worlds. The tailor-made Earth Kingdom style dresses that the three princesses really wanted to wear were finally done. Most Earth Kingdom citizens wore shades of brown, yellow, and green. The higher class citizens wore brighter silk garments with gold and silver threads and ornaments forming imprinted designs on the fabric. The three princesses wore them for the whole day and acted as if they were earth benders. They played all day and listened to stories without even realizing that their invitations to the up-coming coronation were missing.

            That afternoon as the three played around at the backyard garden of their residence house, one of their housemaids came running to them.

            “Your Highnesses,” the handmaid bowed to them with a big smile on her face. “Your friends Princess Sica and Princess Krystal are here for a visit. The Firelord requests that you greet them right away.”

            “Oh, they finally arrived in the city!” Sunny exclaimed in excitement. Fany jumped and clapped her hands twice while Taeyeon just stood there with wide open.

            “Let’s go,” Fany said as she grabbed both Taeyeon and Sunny back into the residence house and headed for the living room.

            When they arrived in the living room, they saw their old friend Sica sitting on the golden sofa with her little ten-year-old sister, Krystal, touching one of the decorative bonsai plants near the door.

            “Sica, I missed you!” Fany ran to Sica and immediately hugged her with constricting arms. “You look tired though.”

            “We just arrived yesterday. I just woke up an hour ago,” Sica explained.

            “You’re still the same sleepy princess,” Sunny said as she also gave Sica a hug.

            “By the way, this is Taeyeon, our new sister. She’s the one I’ve been writing to you about for the past months,” Fany said as she dragged Taeyeon to meet Sica.

            “Hi, Taeyeon, it’s very nice to finally meet you,” Sica said with an awkward bow.

            “It’s very nice to meet you too,” Taeyeon said, also giving Sica an awkward bow. Then Taeyeon smiled and awkwardly remarked, “You’re paler than I imagined. I’ve never seen anyone with skin like a pearl.”

            “Oh, why thank you,” Sica giggled and then turned to Sunny and Fany, “I think Taeyeon and I will get along well.”

            “Oh my gosh, you grew so much Krystal!” Fany approached Krystal with a smile and then gave her a hug. “Do you remember us?”

            “Nah, she probably doesn’t,” Sica said coldly.

            Sunny went closer to Krystal and told her, “We were about your age the last time we saw you. You were just four then.” Sunny lightly pinched little Krystal’s cheeks. Krystal gave her a sweet smile.

            “So, do you guys have your invitations too?” Sica asked as she held up a golden royal invitation.

            “Of course we do. It’s all in my purse. Wait, let me get it so I can show you proof,” Sunny left to get her purse with a cute giggle, skipping as she went. Everyone rolled their eyes at the sight of Sunny being her weird self. Krystal just chuckled at her though and thought that she was a funny eonni.

            “Until now, she still so annoying,” said Sica.

            “I know right,” said Fany and Taeyeon in unison.

            “I think she’s cute,” remarked ten-year-old Krystal with an adorable chuckle.

            “Not if you hang around her long enough, she really isn’t,” said Taeyeon. Fany and Sica agreed with her.

            After some time which took longer than they thought, Sunny came back with a worried expression on her face. Then she slowly spoke, “It’s not in my purse. Fany, Taeyeon, did you take it?”

            “No,” the two replied in unison.

            “Maybe you just didn’t see it. It’s probably somewhere in the room or on the beds,” Fany suggested.

            “No, I already looked, they really aren’t there,” replied Sunny.

            Taeyeon snickered and teased, “Well, your stuff is always a mess so maybe you should look some more or be more organized.”

            “Meh… I’m sure it’ll pop up when you’re not looking for it,” Sica coolly said.

            “Anyway, you better find it, or we’re not going to get into the palace. If that happens, you’re dead. I’ll torture you personally,” Fany playfully threatened her sister and stuck her tongue out at her with an adorable eye-smile. “But seriously, though, we’re not going to get into the palace without it.”

            Four days later, the Royal Fire Nation Family arrived at the gates of the palace. The Water Tribe Royal Family also arrived at about the same time. Nobles, bureaucrats, and high officials were allowed into the palace one by one after showing their own invitation with the Royal Earth Kingdom seal. However, the three Fire Nation Princesses had one problem: they still had not found their missing invitations.

            “Hey guys,” greeted Sica when she saw the Fire Nation Princesses by the palace wall. “You guys ready to meet the new queen?”

            “Oh yeah, we’re more than ready,” replied Fany. Then her tone changed into frustration and turned to Sunny with an angry expression, “More than ready if someone hadn’t lost the invitations!”

            “Fany, calm down. I’m sure there’s a way to figure this out,” Taeyeon said as she massaged Fany’s tensing shoulders.

            Sica laughed at the three pathetic princesses. “You do know that you can all go in by your father’s invitation, right? I mean family members…duh.”

            “Oh right…I can’t believe we’ve never thought of that!” Sunny exclaimed. Then she ran over to Firelord Soon-Jae who was conversing with Sica’s father. “Daddy, I have to tell you something. Can we have a private conversation?”

            “Sure, Soonkyu,” the Firelord replied with a kind smile. “What is it?”

            “I sort of left the three invitations at the residence, but we’re here I don’t want to go through all the trouble of going back to get it,” Soonkyu lied in the most adorable, innocent way.

            “Okay, when we come in, I’ll just tell the guards that you are my daughters. I’m sure they will understand.”

            Sica was right. The guards allowed them in when the Firelord showed his invitation.

            Inside the huge walls that separate the palace compound from the rest of the city was a vast, extensive palace compound were well-maintained gardens and plazas that stretched out for miles. Numerous guard towers and small scale walls are everywhere for added security. At the very heart of compound and the entire city was the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace. Its golden rooftops represent the Earth Kingdom’s grandeur and wealth and the huge insignia on the front entrance of the red brick palace wall represents their strength and stability. No other nation encompassed their great wealth and power.

            “Wow,” gasped Taeyeon in awe. “This place is ten times bigger and wider than the Fire Nation Royal Palace.”

            “Of course,” said Sunny. “It’s the largest palace compound in the world.”

            All tables were set and covered with white table cloth out at the courtyard where the coronation will be held. Since the weather was nice and cool that noon, the Earth King decided to hold the ceremony outdoors. The guests seemed to like the idea. The Firelord, the King and Queen of the Water Tribe, the three Fire Nation Princesses, and the two Water Tribe Princesses sat in one big table. There they waited for the coronation to start.

            “So, where’s your brother Yonghwa?” Fany asked Sica.

            “Our father is training him as the Royal Heir, so he was left behind to take care of the palace affairs as a sort of ‘practice’ to see if he was fit for the throne,” Sica explained.

            Krystal started giggling at the background as Sica talked. Then she blurted, “I bet Yong Oppa already caused a lot of trouble because he at it!”

            “He also didn’t want to go,” Sica added. “He said he did not want to run into someone.”

            “Who?” Sunny wondered.

            “I have no idea, but he says someone currently in Ba Sing Se will just piss him off.”

            “He’s going through love and puberty. He's in love with the girl who he calls 'his angel.' He did not want to come because he did not want to run into Kyuhyun, who he considers as 'his rival,'” Krystal spoke up.

             The princesses just laughed. Fany, who was clapping like an amused seal, laughed harder than the rest.

            “Do you even know what puberty is like? And what the heck do you mean by Yonghwa going through love? You’re ten, you shouldn’t know anything about these things,” Sica said as she rolled her eyes at Krystal’s comment. "I mean, Yonghwa never told me anything..."

            “I’m not that stupid, of course I know what I’m talking about. And I’m turning eleven in a few months, you know,” Krystal said with her arms crossed. "And Yonghwa Oppa thought you'd make fun of him so he only told me. He said I'm his favorite sister."

              Everyone laughed once more. Sica just got annoyed by her little sister again though.

            Meanwhile, Yuri, Soo-Young, and Minho got ready to approach the palace. They were all dressed in fine silk clothes and they imitated the nobles’ pompous stature to blend in with the crowd. They looked very elegant, respectable, and sophisticated in contrast to their usual middle class simplicity.

            “Look at us, we totally blend in!” whispered Soo-Young with a snicker.

            “You noonas should thank me since I got these clothes for free,” Minho said proudly.

            “I’m glad you have good connections,” Yuri complimented Minho with a pat on his back. “I don’t think I’ve never looked this amazing in my life!”

            “You’ve never looked amazing in your life,” Soo-Young snorted with an insult.

            “Aish, you say that as if you look like a princess, when in fact, even if you are a princess, no one would think to steal from you because no one would ever think that you’re royalty!” Yuri retaliated.

            “Aish!” Soo-Young swung her fists to hit Yuri, but Minho stopped them from fighting.

            “Nobles don’t hit each other with fists, you idiots!” Minho rebuked them.

            Soo-Young and Yuri calmed down and cleared their throat. Soo-Young took out her hand fan and with a swish it opened up like the way the nobles do it. Then she spoke in the most grandiloquent manner, “You are right, my dear brother. Nobles most certainly do not hit with fists, for they have lowly servants to do that and just about everything else for them. Besides, it’s not very lady-like to make fists, for their nails dig deep into the palms of their skin if they do. Thus, blood might spill out of their palm arteries and...”

            “Okay, shut up with the nonsense, let’s just go into the palace already,” Yuri retorted. She then approached the wall opening where the guards were checking the invitations. “By the way, Minho, where did you get these clothes?”

            “I got them from Key,” Minho said coolly.

            “What? You got them from Key?” Soo-Young was shocked. “When you asked Key for these clothes, did Junsu happen to ask you why I haven’t been to work these past days?”

            “Yup. I just lied to him and told him you were sick,” Minho said with a smile.

            “I’m glad you’re my brother,” Soo-Young sighed in relief.

            When they reached the checking guards, they were asked for their invitations. All of them showed each of their stolen invitations. In those few seconds, their heart began to beat faster. They were finally entering the palace through the stolen invitations. So far, their plan was going smoothly. Nervousness started to creep in.

            “Whoa,” the three gasped in awe.

            “So this is what the palace looks like,” Soo-Young mumbled under her breath.

            “It’s a whole lot bigger than I ever imagined,” Minho whispered. “I want to work here someday…”

            Everyone invited to the coronation walked and talked in the most decorous manner. Even the servants had more manners than any of the ordinary citizens. Yuri, Soo-Young, and Minho took the time to take in their surroundings and all three realized that they absolutely do not belong there. All three of them were inept in refined social behavior, especially their speech and table manners. However, when Soo-Young saw the long buffet table filled with so many different kinds delicious dishes, she already made up her mind to just enjoy her time in the palace. Yuri and Minho were fired up to see Hyoyeon too. This is probably their only chance to attend such a high-class, formal event. All three of them sat in one table near the buffet as Soo-Young suggested.

            “What the heck?” Amber, one of the Xiah Dragon Noodles workers, said to herself as she was laying a big tray of dumplings on the long buffet table. “Isn’t that Yuri and Soo-Young?”

            Amber rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She stared at the noble-looking ladies sitting on a table near the buffet, making sure if they actually are Soo-Young and Yuri. The girl who looked like Soo-Young got up from her chair and approached the buffet table. Amber stared some more. Isn’t she Soo-Young?

            While Soo-Young smelled the mouth-watering food, she did not notice that Amber was staring right at her face. Finally, when she looked up from the buffet table, she jumped in surprise to see Amber—of all people—staring right at her.

            “Ah!” Soo-Young exclaimed.

            “Soo-Young?”

            “Amber? What the heck are you doing here?” Soo-Young asked in surprise.

            “I should ask the same thing to you!” Amber grunted.

            Overhearing Soo-Young’s loud voice, Yuri went over to the buffet table too to see what kind of trouble she had caused this time. There she saw Amber and Soo-Young standing dazed at each other’s sight.

            “A-a-amber! H-how come you’re here?” Yuri stuttered.

            Then the happy-go-lucky Junsu also came to the buffet long table carrying a huge tray of noodles. He did not notice Yuri at all. “Hey Amber, can you please help Key and the others prepare the rest of the catering?”

            “Boss, did you know anything about this?” Amber asked as she pointed to Soo-Young and Yuri.

            With one look, Junsu’s eyes dilated in shock. “Yuri? Soo-Young? Why are you wearing Hyoyeon’s clothes?”

            Yuri and Soo-Young looked from Junsu, to each other, and then to their clothes. Their mouths dropped. “H-h-hyo-yeon’s c-clothes?”

            “My sister gave them to Key because Minho said that he needed… Wait…Is this why Minho asked for these clothes? So you can act like nobles and shrink work?” questioned Junsu.

            “Princess Hyoyeon is your sister?!” Yuri, Soo-Young, and Amber exclaimed in unison. They had no idea that Junsu and the new Queen was related.

            “Of course she is! That’s why I’m here, because I’m actually considered as a royal guest—brother of the new Queen!”