Chapter 28

"So, what the plan Captain?" asked Korra as the three sat in the car while traveling to the Fire Nation Palace.

"You will see. I don't want to spoil the surprise in case the plan does not work but I think I now a perfect candidate to teach you Fire bending" replied Iroh as he looked at the window. Korra moved her lips forwards, making a grim expression, as she clearly did not like this reply.

The car soon stopped as it arrived to its destination. While it was clear that the majority of the houses within the Capital were renovated, the Palace was still the same old style building, expressing the ancient traditions of the Fire Nation. If former Fire Lord Zuko were to arrive at the Front of the house or his great Grandfather Avatar Roku, they both would recognize the same building.

"Wow, this is a large house" spoke Korra as she faced the palace. Asami did not speak but the girl admitted to herself that Sato Mansion dwarfed in comparison to this Palace.

"Prince Iroh, how could we help you?" a few men and women appeared before the group, clearly waiting to help the group.

"That would be a great idea" smirked Korra but Iroh stopped his friend.

"That wont be necessary, we can walk in the palace on our own" replied the boy as he dismissed his servants, who were not pleased.

"I never knew that a Crown Prince liked to do things himself" spoke Asami

"And I would have thought that the Sato heiress was daddy's little helpless girl" smirked Iroh as Asami fumed

"Hey, take that back, I am not helpless" Asami jumped at Iroh and the two started rolling on the ground

"You started it, Princess" spoke Iroh with slightly insulting tone.

"Guys?" spoke Korra, as she was surprised at her friends' actions.

The two rolled on the ground. Iroh grabbed Asami's long hair and pulled it, which angered the girl, who then retaliated and kicked the Prince in the groin.

"I did not know that my Grandson enjoyed wrestling" spoke an elder man as he appeared next to the group. After Iroh saw him, he immediately let go of Asami's hair and stood up, bowing respectfully to his ancestor. Asami stood up too as she repeated Iroh's actions.

The man had shoulder length gray hair; his most prominent facial feature was a red scar that occupies half of his face. "Fire Lord Zuko" spoke Korra as she recognized the man before bowing as well.

"Actually ex Fire Lord Zuko. What happened her Iroh, I thought that I taught you better than that" Zuko spoke with slight amusement.

"I am sorry Asami, I spoke out of turn" spoke Iroh as he bowed to the heiress

"Its alright, it was silly of me to react so strongly at your comment. A few days ago I experienced some traumatic experiences and I was under a lot of stress. I am sorry" the two teenagers exchanged apologies as they then shook their hands.

"Now, I believe you were going this way" spoke Zuko as he led the group. Iroh approached his grandfather and asked him a question.

"Grandfather, how did you know that I would like her to be Korra's teacher?" asked the boy

"Iroh, during my lifetime I had been friends with Avatar Aang and learned that the Avatars sometimes can get impulsive. Linny and Tenzin also commented on Korra's behavior and I knew that it was only a matter of time for you to bring the Avatar to the Palace"

"Linny?" asked Korra as she laughed

"Yes, the former Team Avatar was great friends to their children. I remember the day when Toph's husband left them; the girl was a little baby at the time. Lin stayed at the Palace for some time as Toph worked; my girl and Lin became great friends ever since." He smiled, "But enough about me, lets find Korra's Fire bending teacher" spoke Zuko as he led the three teenagers to the inner depths of the Palace.

As they arrived to the main Hall, they saw that fire was flying in various directions. A woman stood in the middle of the room, fighting three Fire benders around her. The woman was dressed in a two-piece costume, her red tank top as well as red pants and sandals. Her raven hair flew in various directions and if one were to see the woman from Aang's time, they could easily confuse her with Princess Azula.

The woman jumped and then kicked her leg front, as blue flames escaped her leg and hit the nearby man. She then jumped in the air and with a few powerful hits knocked the man on the ground. She then used some form that Korra had never seen any Fire bender to perform.

"Why is she dancing?" asked Korra

"That's is an Sacred Fire bending Form, thousands of years old. It is called the Dragon Dance," replied Zuko as he pointed to the woman's technique

The woman then jumped between the two men and with very precise hand and finger movements sent lightning from her hands, which flew in two different directions, hitting the men; they dropped on the ground. While Korra watched in amazement, Asami's eyes opened wide as she ran away and hid behind the column.

Iroh noticed this and ran towards the girl before hugging her, trying to comfort the heiress. "Its alright, nobody will hurt you" spoke Iroh

"The lightning!" Asami shivered in fear as Iroh then saw a large red mark on her stomach

"She will not hurt you!" spoke Iroh as he put an arm around Asami, who put her head on his chest.

"Wow, Iroh surely has a great sister" spoke Korra as she looked at the ex Fire Lord.

"Actually Iroh does not have any siblings. Avatar Korra, I would like to introduce to you my daughter Ursa, the current Fire Lord of the Fire Nation" spoke Zuko as the woman looked at her father as she approached him.

"Its nice to see you father. Do you plan to stay in the Capital?" asked the woman

"No, I still have some plans in the Earth Kingdom. I came here since I learned that Korra needs to learn Fire bending and I wanted to ask you if you could teach the Avatar like I taught Aang" spoke Zuko

The woman smiled, "You must be Avatar Korra? It will be a pleasure for me to teach you" spoke the Fire Lord as she then shook Korra's hand

"Iroh, it is not polite to hide behind the column with a lady" smirked the woman as Asami and Iroh saw her and blushed in embarrassment.

A/N:

Some references to "The Fire Bending Masters", especially Zuko's quote from the same episode.

Next Chapter: Fire bending training begins

The Chapter after that: Life in Fire Capitol, Korra's age 13-15