A/N: Part 1 of the trial ready. I got inspired by Tyrion's from Game of Thrones, they're not similar at all, but inspiration must come from somewhere. "I did not kill Joffrey, BUT I WISH THAT I HAD." Epic, honestly.

Also, shout-out to StevenBodner for his suggestions on this chapter.


"We can't concern ourselves with what was. We must act on what is."

Gyatso


XII

"Katara!" exclaimed the brunette as her arms enveloped the Waterbender.

In return, a pair of wrinkled arms encircled around her waist, radiating that distinguished maternal love that she had so greatly missed.

"I came back as soon as I heard," the previously absent woman explained comfortingly, separating from the girl and covering young hands in hers.

Korra turned to the door, where two White Lotus members stood, before a scowl invaded her face, "Would you mind?" she subsequently signaled the exit with just the typical amount of rudeness that the situation demanded, "I am not running away."

The uniformed men looked at each other from the corner of their eyes, before eyeing the girl and her companion. The elder nodded at them reassuringly, and only then did the guards abandon the room. Their attention returned to one another, as they found furniture to sit on.

"I am so glad you are here," the Avatar expressed wholeheartedly, releasing a breath she did not even know she was holding. She felt her bottled up emotions surge up as the intimacy of the chamber sank in.

She felt scared.

Not because of the trial per se, she was sure. There was no reason to fear the legal procedure, since it was more of a formality than anything else. After all, at least half of the people who composed the jury were friends of hers, if not family. She trusted them to make the decision they considered best, and she particularly trusted them to overpower the decision of those who did not necessarily want what was best for her. It was all about subjectivity and objectivity.

She wondered then how they would regard the issue if their love towards her did not play a role.

But what she feared was the fact that she would have to come face to face with the horrible crime she had committed, something she had yet to accept herself. How could anyone grasp the idea of taking a life so swiftly? She could not and would never.

She feared being feared. By those around her, by people who did not know her and also by those who knew her too well. Korra did not want to be seen as a monster, like Yakone and Tarrlok and Amon. Yet, what had made them such horrible human beings was something she now shared. Partly. Having experienced bloodbending first-handedly, she could not believe she could have ever practiced it on someone else. It was something she would have never wished on anyone, much less do so herself.

Apparently not.

It was the darkest bending art for a reason. No one had the right to possess, to take by force, that power over someone. She knew that.

Spirits, she knew that.

Katara opened her mouth to speak, but her pupil interrupted even before she began, "I did not mean to do it," her voice trembled with every word, volume dropping, "You have to believe me."

"I know," the Waterbending Master assured as she squeezed the other's hand.

"I am so sorry, Katara," blue eyes began to burn as hot tears threatened to escape against her will, "All this time, I kept trying to convince myself that I could do this on my own, that I was only hurting myself," her hands found her face, where she buried them, "I ended up hurting others."

The elder did not answer, and for that, Korra was grateful. This was not the time to pour out the stereotypical comforting speeches such as "everyone makes mistakes" or "everything will be okay." They were all aware of what she had done, and there was no turning back. It was not a game nor a simple wrongdoing, but something not even her Avatar status could erase.

She had blood on her hands, blood that would never be washed off.

Rubbing her hands forcefully, she muttered, "I killed someone," her hands stroked one another, unable to remove the invisible crimson liquid, "I killed someone."

The elder embraced the hurting woman, a little girl once again, letting her aged hand pat her back ever so slightly. Feeling the warmth of the Waterbender, the brunette fought out a choked sob.

And with that, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

"I would have never– I didn't–" Korra started, but her cries stopped her midsentence, words dying in her throat with each weep, "Please, forgive me."

The other woman hushed her calmly, rocking her like she would when her own children were younger. She allowed her to let everything out, and cry as loud as she desired and needed.

After what seemed like an eternity, and the sobs became less audible, Katara whispered to the seemingly asleep girl, "Before we go to the trial, I would like to tell you a story."

The Avatar's back straightened at the sudden seriousness of her mentor, the comfort in her voice had vanished and the stern look on her face perked up Korra's curiosity. The hairs at the back of her neck sprang up, unable to blink away from the grey-haired woman's expression.

"It's time for me to tell you about a Waterbender called Hama. And the first time I bloodbent."


"What are you supposed to be doing here?"

She sat on the hard wooden chair the middle of the now courtroom, crossing her arms over her chest as she eyed the intruder from head to toes.

"Good question, Korra!" the man stared off into the distance with wide eyes, "What are any of us doing here?"

The Avatar grunted in response, "You have said that before," her impatient eyes narrowing at the brunette businessman.

"Do you have the answer then?" Varrick pondered, propping his elbows on the table in front of her. His face was very close to hers, and her immediate reaction was to lean back on the chair.

"Well, no, but–"

"Exactly! As I was saying before being rudely interrupted," he continued despite Korra's I did not interrupt anything. "I am your lawyer!" announced the man proudly.

The woman's mouth hung open slightly at the revelation, "You're joking," she blinked repeatedly in confusion, "What do you know about law anyways? You tried to kidnap the president!"

"Allegedly!" the entrepreneur corrected, staring at her blue eyes. Korra gladly accepted the challenge, aggressively focusing her field of vision on him, "Great spirit, Korra. I like you! Zhu Li–"

The twenty year old let her forehead hit the table, allowing herself to ignore her surroundings. This will be worse than I thought, if that is even possible, she reflected.

The room started to become crowded around her. Bodies dressed in blue, yellow, green and red filled the seats behind her until there was almost no space available. Her breathing accelerated by the second, as her fears consumed her mind once more. She had not anticipated the size of the public, which continued to expand, making her throat close and her heart-rate quicken. Her chest rose and fell spasmodically, and her eyes darted back and forth, looking for any exit she could find. She had to repeat a mantra in her head to stop herself from bolting out of the place.

You're not scared of anything.

You're Avatar Korra.

Accept what you did.

Take responsibility.

Before she had the chance to get up from the chair, a hand fell on her shoulder, as if sensing her anxiety. She looked at the person who had given birth to her, one of the people she loved the most. The middle-aged woman leaned down to place a soft peck on her daughter's forehead, her blue eyes as calm as water itself. Or as calm as water should be.

"I will be supporting you from here," her mother's eyes landed on the majestic U-shaped table at the front of the room. Seven chairs accompanying it, where each jury would sit, "Your father will be supporting you from there."

Soon enough, those chairs were being occupied by seven figures. From left to right, there were two almost identical twins dressed in Water Tribe pelts, a grey-haired woman with metal ornaments over a green robe, the president of the United Republic, a woman covered in typical Fire Nation royal garments, a tattooed Air Nomad and the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.

"Let us begin."


"As we all know," started one White Lotus authority, grey hair accommodated on the sides of his head, a bald space at the front. His elegant navy robes were topped by an ornamented white fabric on his upper torso, "After the formation of the United Republic of Nations, Bloodbending was proclaimed illegal. Thanks to the influence of a certain person in this room, it was possible to ban this horrific activity."

All eyes around the room flew immediately towards Katara, before returning to the man having a word. He, too, looked at the Waterbender, but soon after, his vision fixed on the council in front of where he was standing. He continued, "In every context and under any circumstances, should this bending art be punished severely.

The Avatar has already admitted to her crime, there is no doubt in that. Nevertheless, it is our duty in this courtroom today to make sure that justice prevails. As no one should be above law, especially the Avatar, who is supposed to bring balance and peace to the world. Bloodbending is nowhere near balance, the opposite even. Therefore, regardless of her mental instability, Korra should answer to her actions, as the adult she claims to be."

Korra felt her eyes twitch at the words of the White Lotus member. Her fist clenched at her sides, the skin on her knuckles turning white. She was not completely sure why, there was no reason for her to be getting angry. The man spoke the truth. However, she was growing angrier every day. More frustrated, more tired, more anxious.

Sometimes the reason was unknown to her, sometimes it was due to small things, sometimes the contrary.

"Varrick, you may proceed now," motioned the Metalbender sitting with the rest of the World Leaders.

The White Lotus Leader took a seat, and the billionaire magnate found his way to the front of the room. He bowed gracefully, one arm holding his abdomen, the other flying behind his back, "As someone with an allegedly questionable record with the law, I've taken my time to look into this particular case," he explained "I read about Bloodbending for some good 15 minutes before attending this procedure."

"To the point, Varrick."

"Although the man with the bald hair is indeed right about the penalties of the Bloodbending practice," he hand signaled to his predecessor on the stand, "It cannot be ignored that Avatar Korra is not a normal case.

After dealing with another crazy bald man from the Red Lotus, she was poisoned, she could not walk, yadda yadda–" Varrick continued, his hands moving in a circular pattern. The spectators, and specifically the Avatar herself, felt the need to hit their forehead with their palms. "The deathly venom took a toll on the girl, and we can all agree that if any of us went through what she did, we would have kicked the bucket long ago."

The audience nodded their heads, concentrating on the confident businessman, "This young lady has battled a creepy masked Bloodbender, the dark Spirit itself, Unalaq, even though no one cares about him–"

"Focus."

"Yes, yes. And finally, a group of maniacs, whose life purpose was to destroy the Avatar cycle and some other philosophical mumbo-jumbo. And let's consider, the girl was like 13 years old at the time."

Korra's eyebrows knitted in confusion, "I was 18–"

"Don't interrupt the mastermind, kid," the brunette entrepreneur whispered close to the Avatar's ear, before turning his attention back to the jury, his fingertips placed against their respective pair, "The point is, the Avatar has had more near death experiences than probably most of us combined. She even reminds me of the brave Nuktuk–" he stared into the distance, his hand over his heart, "And the good she has done for this world, for all of us, will not be forgotten. For Zhu Li's sake, we avoided ten thousand years of darkness thanks to her. And let me tell you, this face was not ready for total darkness," he index pointed at himself.

"So of course she's a little insane. But can you blame her? We have all done things we're not proud of. Some would even claim I attempted to abduct the president," the lawyer made air quotes with his fingers, "And at least three people in this room have tried to kill an Avatar. So let's not talk about mistakes."

The people around the room seemed to relax at his speech, the fear dissolving slowly into thin air, studying the words that Varrick had mouthed, "If any of you believe there is anyone walking on Earth more selfless than this girl right here–" his finger landed on a surprised Korra, "You're sadly mistaken."

The Avatar blinked quickly, her blue eyes filling with shock, and quite honestly, admiration. She could feel herself buying every single syllable he had said, even though it was all about her. There was a reason this man was so successful, after all. It had nothing to do with what he said, but the way he said it.

"Shall we summon the first witness?"


Korra had to admit that despite of the severity of the situation, she felt undeniably bored.

And annoyed. Mostly annoyed.

Having heard several witnesses, who barely knew her, for the last half an hour was utterly excruciating. Granted, they were still witnesses, and their testimonies were somehow obligatory for the jury to decide her fate. But really, listening to White Lotus guard that had only ever locked eyes with her for a brief moment was completely unnecessary.

And sure, some of them she had bloodbent, so that made sense. But couldn't they find a more exciting ways to say they thought she was crazy? All of them parroted the other. She hoped they were getting paid for doing that, otherwise, they needed to find more interesting hobbies.

Rage brewed inside of her, as she listened to their statements. None of them knew anything about her other than what she had done, yet, they spoke with such confidence, as if they understood what had happened. And even then, they were only aware of their own biased perspective.

For the last few minutes, she had listened to Asami answer the questions the other witnesses had. Korra was glad that at least one familiar face showed up on the stand, to speak up for her. Someone that actually had an idea of what was going through her mind.

"–It was overwhelming for her, dealing with the physical barrier. When you try so hard to deal with your own problems, and on top of that, you can't even take care of yourself anymore. I mean, could you even imagine not being able to walk? Of course that would affect anyone," the raven-haired woman cooed in that soothing way, and she could have sworn the public aww'd in unison. Typical persuasive business talk, the Avatar thought. Impressive, really.

"Thank you, Mrs. Sato, you may leave the stand," the White Lotus leader dismissed as he commanded the next witness to approach. A tall man appeared in the room, golden eyes meeting hers, and her tongue dried in her mouth. She watched as the authority asked the Firebender a few questions, but she ignored his voice, focusing only on the male in front of her.

Even though his vision stayed put on the person interrogating him, his eyes would find her for the shortest of seconds every now and then, to let her know he had her back. And he always would. His mouth moved continuously, and she tried to force herself to pay attention, since she wanted listen to what he was saying.

But she could barely hold her concentration for over five seconds. She felt too anxious, too guilty.

"Has the Avatar ever mentioned anything about bloodbending?"

He shook his head sternly, his forehead creasing.

"Did you ever suspect she possessed such ability?"

"No," narrowing his eyes at the man, Mako clarified, "That's because she didn't."

"You seem eager to guarantee her innocence. Why is that?"

"I think I would know if my girlfriend was a Bloodbender on her spare time," spat the Firebender, before realizing what he had said, the warmth on his cheeks making its way up his neck, "This was evidently an accident on her part, and it is a mockery of justice to punish someone in her condition. No, she's not crazy. But she's human."

The Avatar lips mouthed a thank you, which he easily caught. She could see the red still tinting his complexion. They had not talked about the whole relationship dilemma before, they kind of just let things… happen as they went. Clearly, he had not meant to confess to a crowd in the middle of a very serious case that they were together. He was too reserved and secretive for that.

Regardless, the people around the room did not seem to mind or acknowledge his comment. It was minimal, unnoticeable to the normal ear. But she noticed, and he knew she did. Did she mind?

Not at all.

"So how do you believe someone, who had never bloodbent, was able to successfully out of nowhere?"

Her anger was reaching its boiling point.

He grunted. It was a very good question indeed, something everyone was asking themselves. The Avatar herself did not understand how she had done it, but she did. It just happened. "I don't know," he admitted in defeat. He had yet to talk to Korra about what had driven her to bloodbend, but he had no doubt that it had something, or everything, to do with her hallucinations.

"Everyone in this room is aware of Korra's physical supremacy as far as bending is concerned, which could be the reason she was able to excel at this atrocious doing without previous experience."

Along with anger, guilt was growing stronger within her. But as always, it was anger that overtook her.

"It is the spiritual side, however, where her weaknesses lay."

The accused abandoned her chair abruptly, gaining the attention of every soul in the room, "I am not weak!" her voice rose behind him, overshadowing that of the White Lotus and the whispers of the audience alike.

The man dressed in the White Lotus robes disregarded her comment, keeping his focus on the jury, "For said reason, the Order believes Korra needs an undisturbed environment for her to heal fully."

"I am not going back to that secluded compound. The world needs me," the words escaped from her gritted teeth, tinted with hate. They were followed by the first words she had said to him when she was only four years old, "I'm the Avatar, you gotta deal with it!"

"The world needs its Avatar indeed. That being said, you are not the Avatar you used to be. Your recuperation is our priority now. The world can wait," he stressed, causing her eyes to narrow, "It is because of your spiritual unbalance that you have caused such turmoil lately."

Allowing her fury to consume every corner of her being, she yelled, "You know nothing about me!" the fists, which were tightly pressed into balls, slammed on the table in front of her, leaving a dent on the hard surface. The sudden aggressive move alerted everyone around the room, men in White Lotus uniforms started to approach her carefully.

As she stood from her chair, her mother, who was still at her side, tugged gently at her shirt, "Sweetheart, please calm down."

"No!" she exclaimed, yanking her arm away from Senna. Although she immediately regretted being so harsh against her mother, her rage at most people in the room took over her body. The public was staring at her wide-eyed because of her sudden outburst. Most of them were scared, she noted. Others, such as the World Leaders, were observing her warily, as if anticipating her next move.

"I made a mistake, okay?" her speech continued, the wrath dissipating slightly, replaced by the guilt that was devouring her from the inside. Not unlike during her conversation her Waterbending teacher, she felt burning liquid sting her eyes. But she would never cry in front of that many people in this lifetime. Ever. "I am not running away from the consequences. I can't take it back, I wish that I could, but I can't."

The World leaders maintained their gaze on her, permitting her to extend her speech, even though she shouldn't have been allowed to.

"About the other night–" she opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to select the right words to express her frustration, "That does not define me. Everything I've done in the past for this world, for your city–" an accusing finger pointed towards the president of the United Republic, their eyes locking for a few seconds in what seemed like a staring contest, "–does not simply disappear because of a horrible mistake."

"And yes, I bloodbent! I had never done it before, nor do I want to ever do it again," she exhaled loudly, her eyes examining part of the public, one by one. They were full with terror. They were scared of her, "That does not make me a Bloodbender. And if you are going to be scared of me, be afraid of the fact that I need no bending whatsoever to hurt any of you. I am the Avatar. I am not weak."

With a rapid move of her leg, a blast of air sent the table in front of her across the room, and then she moved towards the closest exit. The guards were already around her, ready to control her, before one authority spoke up.

"We will have a short pause now, the trial will continue momentarily."


"There you are."

A body leaned on the balcony railing next to her. Even with a couple of inches separating their arms, she could still feel the heat radiating off him.

"That was… interesting," he said slowly, studying her features as he spoke. Her eyes did not shift, her body did not tense. She was just admiring the landscape in front of her, breathing in the essence of every element she had mastered.

"I bet," she scoffed, placing her hand on top of his, without looking at him. The warmth of his palm doubled at her touch, "So, girlfriend, huh?"

His pale skin crimsoned at her accusation, matching the color of the red scarf he once wore, "I did not plan for it to come out like that," saying sheepishly, his hand grew slightly sweaty, and she could not help but chuckle at his boyish nervousness.

He answered with a smile, not because of his awkwardness, like she had, but because she seemed somewhat happy. In spite of everything that was happening, the seriousness of it all, she had managed to laugh. He could not help but respect her a little more, and could not also help but think she looked even more beautiful, if that was even possible.

"They are waiting for you inside," he announced quietly, his smile disappearing from his lips along with hers, "This whole thing will be over soon."

She walked in the direction of the courtroom, hands in his, as she said under her breath, "It will never be over."


A/N: That is it for Chapter 12. A few notes:

1. I hope you liked the Macbeth parallel, with the invisible blood and whatnot.

2. The trial is more similar to Yakone's in Book 1, rather than Tonraq's in Book 2, with a council rather than one judge. No judge here.

3. Katara will make an appearance in court next chapter.

Let me know what you think, I'd appreciate the reviews, and they certainly motivate me to update faster.

Thank you for reading.