Chapter Two

Earlier That Day

The day had started with a summons from her father. Korra groaned as she read over the letter before tossing it aside on her bed. Her chambers were stark, nearly barren. Ever since the civil war, the castle had been devoid of grandeur. People had shifted living quarters so much since her uncle's administration was integrated into court. In a way, many people still felt like prisoners of war. They still flinched at the sight of Korra, Slayer of Unalaq.

She pulled off her nightwear and dug a simple tunic and trousers from her wardrobe. The tunic lay on her well, a light cloth with dark blue embroidery at the cuffs and collar. Her father had ordered new clothes for her to be tailored after the war's end. His ambassador-in-training needed to look like more than a common soldier, he said.

With a sigh, Korra finished tidying up and left her room for the morning. She found her father in the main hall, sitting next to her mother and his advisors. The advisors they had absorbed from Unalaq's kingdom sat at the far end of the table with Korra's cousins, Eska and Desna. The twins caught her gaze when she walked in, though their deadpan looks gave nothing away.

"Korra, finally." Her father looked up from an ancient tome and waved her over. "I have a task for you."

She walked over to his side and bowed. "I am at your service," she said.

Tonraq smiled and glanced to his wife. "See how cordial she is? I knew those lessons with Tenzin would pay off."

Senna smiled at her daughter. "You've improved, my dear."

Korra smiled back. "Thank you, mother."

"And since you are showing improvement, I've decided to employ you in settling a dispute." Tonraq closed the tome and reached for a folded piece of parchment. "My brother left many unresolved debts upon his death." He unfolded the paper and handed it to Korra. "One of which is taking a violent turn. These cabbage farmers are threatening harm to our shepherds because of some absurd promise Unalaq made them." He sighed and massaged his temple. "Visit the cabbage farmers and see if you can talk sense into them. You will be representing me as a knight-commander. Do not disappoint."

Korra nodded. "I'll take my leave, if you don't mind."

Her father waved his hand. "The sooner the better. I'd hate for bloodshed to result from this."

She left the hall for the armory, where an attendant helped her into her armor. She was on her way to the stable when she ran into two of her father's knights. "Mako, Bolin!" she called, waving to them.

The two brothers glanced over at her. "Knight-commander!" Bolin shouted, running over and clapping her on the shoulder. "How are you?"

"Well," Korra said. "I'd be better if I did not have to run errands for my father."

"Ah, the crushing weight of responsibility," Bolin sighed. "Why don't you ask Mako to do your errands instead?" He nodded in his brother's direction. The taller man lingered in the distance, glancing at both of them occasionally.

Korra shook her head. "I doubt he wants to deal with angry cabbage farmers. He hardly wants to even talk with me."

"Oh, he'll get over that. If he starts writing poetry, then we'll worry." Bolin turned to his brother. "Why are you standing all the way over there?" he asked.

Mako made a noncommittal gesture and Korra took a step toward the stables. "You know, you guys should come with me. I could use the help if the farmers decide to attack."

Bolin snorted. "Hey, the peasants are..." He chuckled a bit more. "Revolting." Korra rolled her eyes when Bolin nudged her. When she did not respond, he cleared his throat and looked away. "Brother! Duty calls. Korra needs our help settling a dispute."

Finally, Mako walked over to them. "Is something wrong?" he asked. "Knight-commander. Do you require our help?"

Korra chuckled and leaned her hand on her sword pommel. "Mako, please tell me you're going to still use my actual name on occasion."

He stiffened. "Have I offended you?" he asked.

Bolin clapped him on the shoulder. "You're making things worse," he said, then nodded toward the stables. "Why don't we help Korra before you make more of an ass of yourself?"

The three of them left for the stables and mounted up. Bolin and Mako followed Korra down the road that led to the pastures. It was not long before they encountered the group of farmers blockading the path. They sat across the road, blocking any carts from coming and going. Korra slowed Naga to a stop and dismounted, Mako and Bolin doing the same.

"What's going on here?" she asked, walking toward the farmers. Some of them stood up to meet her. One brandished a pitchfork at her.

"Not a step closer, Slayer," the farmer with the pitchfork threatened.

Korra glanced down at the prongs pointed at her chest. She brushed them aside. "It's Knight-commander, actually," she said.

"What seems to be the problem, here?" Mako asked, stepping forward.

"The problem is that our king sees fit to punish us for his war," said one of the farmers, a younger man.

"What, he made you sit in the middle of this road?" Bolin asked.

Korra laughed, but Mako brought his hand to his forehead and groaned. "I'm sorry," Korra said when she caught more glares from the farmers. "Is there anything I can do to be of assistance? We need the roads to be passable."

One of the farmers laughed at her. "Right, you need that. We also need farmland to grow our food. But your father seems more than ready to just give it up to the shepherds!"

Korra crossed her arms. "Oh, right," she said. "It's my father's fault he had to integrate two entire kingdoms together after Unalaq attacked us."

"This is not what we asked for!" said the farmer.

Mako stepped in between the two of them. "Hey, I think everyone needs to calm down a moment."

The farmer pushed him aside. "Shove off. Can't you see I'm talking to the Slayer of Unalaq?"

"Don't touch him," Korra growled.

"And don't threaten the farmers!" Mako shoved her.

"Mako, as your Knight-commander, I order you to step down."

The farmer laughed and pointed at Korra with the pitchfork again. "Look at the little knight. Can't even keep her soldiers in line."

Now

"And that's when the brawl started."

Asami nodded and glanced down at Korra's leg. "So you fought a horde of farmers. How did you get your pauldron dented?" She watched Korra flex her foot again, slowly. She had to fight the urge to reach out and touch her.

Korra shrugged. "Mako shoved me and I fell on my shoulder. Must have hit a rock on the road or something."

Asami met Korra's gaze. "He shoved you?"

Korra waved her hand dismissively. "He needed to. I was about to punch a farmer in the face. Father would not have approved." Korra sighed. She looked away. "Well, he will find out what happened eventually, but for now..." She smiled at Asami. "This was a nice escape," she said. For a moment Asami forgot that she should breathe. She often wished her days could be filled with more moments like this one. With effort, she forced herself to speak.

"How does your ankle feel?" she asked.

Korra smirked. "Sprained."

Asami shook her head. She would never get over how annoyingly endearing Korra's crooked smile was. "Again, I'm sorry about all that."

Korra shrugged, but did not dismiss the apology. She picked at the grass, instead, studying the ground. "So...how are things with your father?"

Asami shook her head. "About the same as always. As long as I keep my head down and do what I'm told, everything is fine." The words held more bitterness than she had intended.

"I wish there was something I could do." Korra put a hand on her shoulder. "But I'm really only good at hitting things and I don't think you want me to do that."

Asami shook her head. "He's not that bad, really." Korra gave her a skeptical look. "He is determined to carry his grief with him forever." She pulled her knees up to her chest. "I think he takes it out on me because I look so much like her."

"That doesn't make it okay," Korra murmured.

"I know, but...he's my father." Asami shrugged. "He's all I have."

Korra nudged her shoulder. "You've got me."

Asami swallowed the rising lump in her throat. "Do I now?" She stared fixedly at the grass.

Korra leaned away and Asami immediately regretted her words. "Well, I mean, I'm not family. But I'm your friend, right? We do more than smith things and test inventions, don't we?" Asami thought back, but could not recall such a moment. She wished that friendship was enough with Korra, but it hurt. It hurt to be close to Korra and far from her affections. Still worse was being away from her, and so she settled on friendship, even if it stung. "Um, I mean...Oh!" Asami glanced at Korra to see her grinning. "Why don't you and I go to the tourney together?"

"The tourney?" Asami asked. Together?

"We're having a big one in honor of the Earth Queen. She's visiting the kingdom soon. There will be plays, carnivals, and Tenzin said he was going to plan something special. Anyways, I'll be in a tourney at the end of the day, and I'd like for you to attend as my honored guest." The words left Korra's mouth in a rush.

Asami laughed softly. "Honored, hm?" she asked.

"Well, you did save my life and all." Korra gestured to her foot.

Asami nodded and stood up, brushing the blades of grass off her clothes. "Yes, from a terrifying ankle injury." She stooped over and helped Korra to her feet. She looped Korra's arm over her shoulders and tried not to focus on the way their bodies touched.

"It almost had me there, but you rescued me just in time." Together, they hobbled up the hill.

"Can you still ride? I mean, do you want me to take the reins?"

"Are you sure you're not too scared to ride Naga?" Korra asked.

Asami blushed. "I...well..." Instead of embarrassing herself further, she thrust Korra toward Naga. "You lead, then."

With some effort, Korra pulled herself astride Naga and turned to help Asami up. She settled behind Korra and wrapped her arms around the knight's middle. Riding behind Korra was a personal hell. It took all of her willpower to keep her hands in a respectable place around Korra's stomach. Her fingers itched to trace the well-toned muscles she could feel beneath Korra's tunic. She wanted to rake her nails down Korra's back. The thoughts spiraled from there, and Asami bit her lip, trying to shake the images from her mind.

"Are you alright?" Korra asked.

"I'm fine." Asami wished her voice didn't sound quite so strained.

"You're very quiet."

"Just..." -thinking about you naked- "redesigning the glider in my head."

"Ah. I'll leave you to it, then." They spent the rest of the ride back to the blacksmith's in silence. Asami allowed herself to lean into Korra, her head resting against her back. Korra would just think she was tired, and in exchange Asami would have intensely dissatisfying dreams that night. Finally, Naga came to a stop. "We've arrived, my lady."

With a sigh, Asami pulled herself from Korra and dismounted. "Thank you, Knight-commander," she said, smiling up at Korra. She pulled the remains of her ruined glider down and spared one more glance at her. "I suppose I should find a favor for you to place upon your lance."

"I'd be honored my lady." Korra gave her another lopsided grin. "And I will be the envy of all the knights."

Asami turned away and busied herself with her glider, trying to hide her blush. "You just want to rub it in Mako's face."

Korra laughed. "Would that be so wrong?"

"No, I suppose not." Asami took a step back. "Goodbye, Korra."

"Goodbye, Asami."

She watched Korra steer Naga in the direction of the castle and ride off. Finally, she turned and went back down the alley, making sure to keep an eye out for her father before returning to her worktable by the forge. She pulled the ruined glider out of the sack and spread it out before her. In reality, the damage was not all that bad. The frame had salvageable parts, but the fabric was completely ruined. Asami began taking apart the pieces, allowing herself to get lost in the work. In the back of her mind, however, she entertained thoughts of spending the tourney with Korra. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she imagined what favor she might give Korra for the joust.

"Asami, what is that?"

She paused in her work and glanced over her shoulder. Her father walked out of the workshop. "Just a project," she said. Her father wiped his hands on his apron and walked over.

"What is it?" he asked. "It doesn't look like anything we sell in the shop."

Asami continued to work. "It's the glider, the one I showed you the designs for."

"Asami."

She ignored the warning tone in his voice and continued working. "Was there something you needed me for?" she asked.

"The Court Wizard has sent his apprentice to pick up their order. Go assist her."

Asami put down her tools. "Jinora's here?" she asked.

Her father nodded. "I thought you might want to visit."

She left her invention and went inside the workshop. She saw Jinora standing by the main counter, staff in hand with her robes pulled tight around her. "I wasn't expecting you today," she said.

Jinora turned and smiled. "Hello, Asami," she said. She walked over and they embraced. "How are you?"

Asami offered the younger woman a chair by the counter. "I've been better." She ran a hand through her hair.

"So you saw Korra today?"

Asami blushed. "Am I really so transparent?"

Jinora chuckled. "I think she is probably the only person in the world who can fluster you. Your face turns bright red at the mention of her."

With a groan, Asami leaned against the counter. "It was my fault. She wanted me to fix her armor so I asked her to help with a project, and..." She sighed. "To summarize, I should probably try to keep from riding Naga with her if I want to keep any measure of self control." Asami said.

Jinora laughed, then immediately stopped when Asami frowned at her. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you. I just don't understand how she cannot know. I mean, honestly."

"It gets worse. She asked me to go to the tournament with her."

Jinora leaned forward in her chair. "Wait, as in romantically? Or just as friends?"

"Just as friends." Asami paused. "At least I assume so." She pushed off the counter and walked around to the back of the shop. "This is Korra, after all. I could walk into her room naked and she would ask me if I'm cold, and offer me a cloak." As Jinora laughed, she grabbed a package stored behind the counter. "Here is Tenzin's order." She handed the wrapped cylinder to Jinora. "This should be safe to shoot fireworks out of."

"Excellent," Jinora said, picking up the package. "I'll return to him now, if you're doing all right."

Asami shrugged and crossed her arms. "I'll manage."

Jinora gave her a sad smile. "The tournament will be a good change of pace. You'll see." She walked toward the exit. "I have a feeling about it."

"Wizard's intuition?" Asami asked.

Jinora laughed. "We can call it that. Goodbye, Asami."

And then the workshop was empty, and Asami was alone with her thoughts once more. She sighed and picked up the nearest tool, hoping a project would come to mind. Korra dominated her thoughts, however. All she could think about was the tourney, the stupid promised favor. The favor. Asami glanced out into the courtyard to see her father gone. The sun was setting, meaning he had probably left for dinner. Asami walked outside, trying to think of something suitable to make for Korra.

The thought was almost absurd. It seemed that everything she made had something to do with Korra, one way or the other. Korra had dominated her mind for so long, Asami wasn't certain what it would be like otherwise. It needs to be something small, something she can place on her lance. She stroked her chin thoughtfully. She paced the length of her workspace as her mind cycled through various different designs. Her eyes scanned her various tools on her workbench and lingered on the now ruined material of the glider. She picked up a small piece of the fabric and rubbed it between her fingers.

"This should do nicely."

A/N: Thank you everyone for the supportive words and encouragement. Thanks everyone who showed up to the stream! To iterate, we stream via Twitch on the channel Luraline every Friday starting at 5 pm pacific. We play video games and chat and hilarity usually ensues.

If you haven't seen Ozkit's drawings for this, go check them out on Tumblr (just search 'ozkit'). They are beautiful, and the talented illustrator will be drawing a cover for this fic in addition to some other sketches to accompany the chapters, so show your support! Btw, the chapter 1 sketch is totally Korra and Asami riding Naga together, so go find it now! It's gorgeous!

We will attempt to update every Sunday, but no promises.