...
"A first love always occupies a special place."
- Lee Konitz
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It was very early the next morning, and Eska was laying in her own bed after having suffered a very restless night trapped in her own thoughts. Desna really scared her yesterday. Normally, he'd be her go-to…but now that she felt that everything was drawing to a close, she knew that she had to decide where she stood in her family. She pulled her blanket over head, hoping that she could just finally fall asleep and wake up when it was all over.
If she could talk to Bolin, that would be perfect. They were both freaked out about what they had done, and it didn't hit either of them until now that the consequences could be catastrophic.
And the chance of getting pregnant was the least of it, for Eska.
Her father entered the room, not bothering with her decency or caring about how early the hour was. She wasn't dressed for the day, unlike her brother. The two were always supposed to be up and ready by this time, even though the sun had not risen.
"Father…" she sat up in her bed, then leaping up and adjusting her nightgown.
"Are you finally awake, daughter…?" He brought himself closer to her. The look on his face was difficult to read in the darkness of the room. He looked angry, she thought.
She bowed to him. "…yes, father…I am awake…" she frowned, feeling perspiration dew on the back of her neck. Unalaq always told her to never be late in the morning…
His arms were folded behind his back as he watched her. It was uneasily silent between them. Eska felt that she should probably say something to break it.
"…father, are you-"
"Don't speak unless spoken to." He interjected, cutting his daughter off and also answering her unfinished question.
She frowned. There could be so many reasons why he was angry…Eska only hoped that it wasn't for the worst reason of them all.
"Do you know why I am upset?"
Eska looked down to her socked feet quietly, not wanting to respond. It surely wasn't because she slept in…
"Answer me."
She looked up, attempting to meet her father's intense stare, but failing and looking all around the wall behind him. Maybe if she imagined Bolin there, it would make her feel better. Sadly, it didn't. It only made her fear of her father and this situation grow stronger.
"…yes…"
In a quick motion, he grabbed his daughter's wrists, forcing her onto her knees. She let out a tiny yelp of pain, her hair shielding her face from his.
"Blasphemous…blasphemous child…!" Using his foot, he kicked Eska in her side, driving her thin body completely to the floor. She gasped, the force of the impact enough to make her start to cry. With shaking hands, she gripped the cold, hard floor, pleading for her father's mercy.
"Father…I know what I have done…I beg of you…please show mercy…" she choked and cried.
"…please…"
Unalaq stepped closer, his large boots the only thing in her vision. She could see him pace across the floor as she lay in the tears that puddled beneath her weakened frame.
His steps moved all around her. Pat…pat…pat…
"Your brother spoke to me, after I returned last night. He didn't leave out a single…detail…not that he had to. I knew it all before he mentioned it."
She shook even harder. He knows, her mind repeated. He knows about her encounter with Bolin for sure.
His voice became softer. "Eska, my darling…I don't think…you've forgotten what happened the last time something like this was attempted…" He paused.
"…remember Malina?"
She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to block out her fathers words, and that painful memory.
"Only now…it's different, for you…you're a young woman, just like she was…doesn't that…frighten you, at all?" His footsteps stopped.
"…y-…yes, father…p-…please, father…" She choked out sobs, trying her best to hold them back. He didn't want her to speak, let alone cry.
"Please? It's a little too late to stop what must be done, my child. And unfortunately, it is also beyond my control…you should know that."
He reached down and gripped the back of his daughter's silky nightgown, lifting her back onto her knees. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and her eyes were closed tightly to avoid Unalaq's fierceness.
He tenderly lifted her chin with his other hand, forcing her to look up to him and exposing the soft, bare flesh of her neck. He took a step back, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a coil of rope. His eyes were shut as he muttered a prayer, and although she couldn't hear him, she knew exactly what he was saying.
...
...
Two years ago.
It is the afternoon, and Desna and Eska walk side by side into the city of the North, heading to their training with the Northern Water Tribe's greatest waterbending master. It's a happy day in the large town - vendors selling their usual goods and people chatting merrily about their families and achievements.
Eska scoffs as she walks. "Incompetents…"
Desna turns his head, the cheeriness of the of the commoners also dissatisfying to him.
"Nothing shows weakness more than careless displays of emotion…" he sighs.
The two stand side-by-side, watching the townspeople go about their daily business. Well, it's better than staying indoors all day, they agreed. Desna hated staying indoors because of how depressing it is, so this training day is a perfect opportunity to stay out of the palace and get fresh air.
They arrive at the private waterbending dojo, joining the other students there and taking a seat on the plush blue pillows. They are all kids their age - children of important spiritual leaders and nobility.
The master walks in, sipping at a porcelain teacup. He is an aged and bearded man - at least eighty years old - dressed in a long, traditional fur robe. He pulls at his whitened whiskers, setting down the cup of tea.
"All punctual, as usual…" he smiles, admiring his students.
They begin their lesson, practicing the skill of turning a block of ice into steam, then back into sharpened ice shards to pin an opponent. It's a difficult lesson, but Eska got the hang of it straight away. Despite being her twin, Desna struggled a little more. He's more talented in the more physical aspect of waterbending, compared to his sister.
"Focus, brother. Focus with all of your will." Eska mumbles, her eyes glued to the block of ice in front of her as she performs the skill perfectly.
Desna copies his sister's movements, but only gets as far as turning the block to steam, and then a sleety hail. He sighs.
"I hate this." Desna rolls his eyes, feeling just about ready to go home now.
The master goes down the row of students, helping each one with the lesson. Before he reaches the twins, he stops and goes to the door of the dojo. A petite girl walks in, keeping her head down. She appears to be poorer - definitely not the child of a noble or spiritual leader.
"Who are you…?" The master scrutinizes her, raising his nose.
"I-…I'm a-…new student…" she speaks quietly, brushing back a loose strand of her messy, chocolatey brown updo hairstyle. Her doe-like features are now more visible; her large eyes a stunning bright blue and her nose a small, soft curve. The thin, pink lips of her face are pulled in a tiny smile.
"…my name is Malina."
...
Korra woke up sprawled across Mako's palace bed, with him snoring at her side. They had a long night of discussion, and after a short argument regarding her father's departure, he defeatedly agreed with her about continuing her training with her uncle. Unalaq requested she tell him, but she was unable to find him that night.
Korra yawned into Mako's face, causing him to stir.
"Wake up, sleepy-butt…" The Avatar poked at the tip of his nose, then peeled open his eyelid. He blinked, rolling onto his other side to face away from his pesky girlfriend.
"…hey…!" She bounced up onto her feet, picking up a feather-filled pillow and smacking him hard with it.
"I said wake up!" She continued to hit him, a few feathers making their way out and fluttering into his hair as she jumped on the bed.
"Korra…" he moaned, raising his hand uselessly to protect himself while she pummeled him.
"Korra…Korra, stop…hey, cut it out…!" He sat up, grabbing the pillow with his raised hand as she went to hit him again.
"I'm awake, okay?" He couldn't help but grin, dark circles noticeable under his bloodshot eyes.
Korra sat herself pretzel-style in front of him, pouting with confusion at his tired look.
"Not sleep well…?"
Mako frowned.
"No, I didn't. I've been worried about Bolin all night. You know…after I talked to him, he went for a walk…and…I haven't seen him at all since then! In fact…we both haven't." he tousled the messy locks that hung in front of his face, the tiny feathers falling from it.
Korra brought herself beside him and wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Chill, Mako. There's no way he's ignoring you on purpose. He's just…figuring himself out. That's what we teenagers do." She grinned, carefully picking out a hidden feather from his hair and moving it away.
"It's a long, perilous journey that your mind will take with you until you are led to a prosperous land of maturity and adulthood." She deepened her voice, pulling at a fake beard. Mako chuckled, knowing it was Tenzin she was impersonating.
"You suck at that…!" He smirked, still fixing his hair and poking his girlfriend in the ribs.
She pouted, leaning into him and setting him slightly off balance.
"You suck." Her bottom lip stuck out.
The couple rose from the bed and took the time to get dressed. The corridor where their bedrooms were was very quiet, and Korra also began to feel the strangeness in it.
"Is anyone alive…?" She fixed the beads in her hair.
Mako sighed, buttoning up his coat. "I don't know…I need to find Bolin." He finished dressing and left the bedroom, going to his younger brother's doorway.
"Bro…? You up?" He knocked against the wall beside the doorway of Bolin's bedroom.
There wasn't a response. Maybe he was still asleep. But it was well into the afternoon. He couldn't be asleep…could he?
"Okay…uh…I'm going to come in…okay?"
Still, there was silence.
Mako pushed his way into the room. Bolin's bed was neatly made, without him in it. Then…was he awake? Why didn't he say anything to him or Korra? Especially Korra, because he doesn't have a reason to be mad with her…
"…hmm…" Mako looked around the room. The strangest thing was the made bed, which Bolin would never have done himself, even back in the city. Could a servant have done it…? The whole thing seemed off to Mako.
Suddenly, he heard a muffled chirp come from Bolin's bed, the pillows shifting slightly. A fluffy red-banded tail slid out from between the pillows, twitching back and forth as more chirps could be heard.
"Pabu…?" Now this was really strange. Bolin never leaves without Pabu. Mako pulled the ferret by the tail, removing him from his place nestled in Bolin's bed. The firebender lifted him up, making Pabu hang upside down in his grip. Something was clutched in his mouth.
"Whattaya got there, pal?" Mako pouted, reaching to pull the object from Pabu. The animal resisted, growling and trying to shift from Mako's curious hand.
Quickly, Mako managed to grab the object, causing Pabu to shake and hiss angrily. He released the fire ferret's tail, letting him hop back onto the earthbender's bed as a favor for letting go of the object.
Mako used both hands to analyze Pabu's finding. It was a thick green fabric with a tuft of white fur at the end of it. He knew he had seen it before…but where?
It suddenly came to Mako, and he dropped the ripped piece of Bolin's coat and dashed out of the empty bedroom.
...
...
The young girl Malina sticks out like a sore thumb in the group of students. She takes a free spot beside Desna as he continues to practice. She jumps right into the lesson, immediately getting the hang of it. Desna's eyes hesitantly move from his sister to her, trying to now copy her moves.
Malina glances to Desna, noticing his struggle.
"Y-…you have to be more…m-more solid and forceful…" her voice is so soft, it is nearly a whisper.
He nods, taking her suggestion and applying it. It works, and he successfully sends shards of ice into the wall in front of him. Amazing, he thinks to himself.
"How do you know this, peasant?" He admires his success.
She frowns, taking his words harshly. Tears come into her wide blue eyes, and she sniffles. Desna is confused by her sadness, thinking that what he said was not an insult, but factual.
"…p-…peasant…" her thin eyebrows pull together, harshening her delicate features.
She turns sharply to him. Her words remain soft as she speaks.
"I'll have you know…that I was an orphan left with nothing. G-…go ahead. Call me a peasant. But now, I'm a top-ranked waterbender, and I am attending school so I can become a waterbending master. I want to help other girls like myself become their own warriors. And…what have you done, besides sit on your royal ass? Yeah, I know you're the Chief's son. Just because I don't look like you, or her…" she gestures to Eska. "…does not mean I am a peasant. I will do more in two months than you could even possibly do in two lifetimes." She turns away from Desna and resumes her practice, and each block of ice turns into ice shards with perfect precision.
The male twin is frozen in confusion and awe at her sudden defense. Who could've expected that to happen? This girl…she's so plain-looking…so average. A simple peasant, as he had put a second ago.
But to him, her plainness does not matter. She is quiet - yet confident and powerful. But how, his mind ponders. And for the first time as he stands there frozen, Desna feels his cheeks heat up so intensely that he can't even tell if he's embarrassed, flustered…or maybe, for the first time…
…in love.
...
AN- as you can see, flashback time. Part 2 will have a continuation of this. Since my main plot is written in past-tense, I wanted to represent the flashback with present-tense. (Kinda flip-flopped…;D)