Korra woke with a gasp on her lips. Her eyes flew open and she looked around the room, reaching out to the empty space in her bed. Just a dream, her mind told her. Her heartbeat began to slow down to a regular rhythm as the rest of her body woke up. Every time she closed her eyes, however, visions played across the closed lids, visions of Asami's body pressed against hers, arching into her touch. Korra brought a hand to her lips, her mind conjuring the ghostly memory of her mouth pressed against searing skin.
"Ancestors," she whispered. Her body ached, but there was nothing to be done about it. Sunlight flooded the room, and someone would be along shortly to send her to the tourney. The tourney I'm attending with Asami. Korra groaned and lay back down, massaging the tension from her jaw with her hands.
A knock on her door caused her to sigh and clamber out of bed. "Enter," she called.
Kai came in with freshly-cleaned clothes draped over his arms. "Knight-Commander," he said, glancing around the room. "Did you have a good evening?"
Korra rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "You might say that," she said.
Kai placed the tunic and trousers down on a table. "Well, you and Asami seemed to enjoy yourselves enough, so..."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Kai smirked. "Nothing, Knight-Commander. Nothing at all."
"No, it doesn't mean nothing, not with you smiling like that." Korra crossed the room and took up the clothes. Kai stood in the middle of the room, glancing toward the washroom door and at the unmade bed. "What are you looking for?"
"Huh? No one – I mean, nothing, Knight-Commander." Kai flashed his damnable smirk once again. "I did not know if I would see Asami this morning, is all."
"Why would you –" Realization struck her. "Damn you, Kai." Korra stalked off to fetch the rest of her clothes. "How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"How I..." Her face felt hot. She turned her back to Kai, hiding her blush by digging through her wardrobe for a clean tunic. "My affections toward Asami."
Kai laughed. "You don't want me to answer that honestly."
Korra groaned and threw a rolled up pair of socks at him. "Then you can await me at the stables and make yourself useful." She waited for Kai to leave before changing into her clothes. "You can do this, Korra," she muttered, straightening the tunic. Her heart already thudded at the thought of spending another whole day with Asami. She had made a mess of their whole evening at the ball. What if she thinks I don't enjoy her company? The thought was almost too much.
The castle was quiet that morning. Everyone had probably gone down to the tourney already. Korra found Kai waiting for her at the stables. She glared when he laughed at her again, but then noticed that no one else was around, not even Naga. "Where is everyone?"
"Your father took the liberty of having everything brought down to the jousting field. He said he wanted you to have the morning free to socialize." He laughed again and Korra clenched her fists. "Particularly with Asami. He was actually surprised that you weren't already with her this morning."
"I – did you – what did you tell him?"
"I told him that you were resting up for the tournament." Kai shrugged. "Somehow I think he might have taken that the wrong way." Korra closed her eyes and resisted a very explicit curse. Even as Kai laughed, the odd comments her father had made over the past few weeks suddenly made more sense.
She straightened her tunic and turned away. "I'm going down to the tourney. I expect to see you at the joust before my turn comes up."
"Of course!" Kai called after her. Korra tried not to appear too flustered as she retreated. Kai had a knack for getting under people's skin.
Instead of heading directly for the tents Korra decided to make a detour to the blacksmith's. I should have brought my armor along as an excuse. Or maybe flowers? Does Asami like flowers? Her insides twisted with anxiety. Just the thought of being around Asami called up visions of her dream. Asami was perceptive. She would know that something bothered Korra. How long did she expect to keep her feelings hidden? I'll tell her after the tourney. I'll win it in her name.
"What are you thinking so hard about that it makes you frown like that?"
Korra jumped at the sight of Asami standing in front of the smithy entrance. Asami laughed. "Asami!" She could feel a flush crawl across her cheeks. "I didn't see you there."
"That's all right." Asami took a step forward and straightened her skirts. She did not wear anything nearly as formal as last night. The simple blouse hung off her form loosely, yet still Korra's heart sped up. "Shouldn't you be at the tourney? I heard the caravans move through to set up earlier this morning."
"I – well, it's good that you ask." Korra cleared her throat, trying to muster up more courage. "I know I asked if you would go to the tourney with me, but that seems a bit of a ways away, and the fair has always been fun." She cut herself off before she could ramble any more. "I mean, if you're not busy, I thought we might go see the performers and...take in the sights before the joust starts." Asami stared at her for a moment. Korra extended her hand in invitation. "Would you care to, my lady?"
Asami accepted her hand. The feeling of her warm palm pressed against her own made Korra's stomach flutter. "I would love to, Knight-Commander," she said with a smile.
Korra could not help but follow the curve of those lips as they turned upward. She blinked, looking away but still holding Asami's hand. "Well, this way, then," she said. As they walked, she allowed Asami's hand to stay in her own. Or rather, she held onto Asami's hand and desperately hoped she would not pull away. When Asami snaked her hand up to the crook of Korra's arm and pulled her close, she grinned, holding her arm out for Asami to better hold onto her.
"Now you're a proper escort," Asami said, leaning into her.
"It would do no good to have you wandering the tourney alone," teased Korra. She turned and smiled at Asami as they walked.
"Yes, only the ancestors know what sort of trouble I'd get up to without you," Asami replied.
As they approached the tourney, a clamor rose in the air. The sound of shouts and laughter drifted to them accompanied with the scent of slowly roasting foods. Korra inhaled the scent of baking apples and cinnamon and bit back a groan of hunger. She had forgotten to eat that morning in her haste. "So, where shall we go first?"
"Well, I can tell that if we don't get something to eat first, I might have to take care that you don't drool on me."
Korra frowned. "Now that's mean, I haven't had breakfast yet."
Asami chuckled. "Did you oversleep again?"
Korra blushed, remembering the dreams from the previous night. "I didn't want to wake up."
Asami raised a brow at her. "And miss spending the day with me?"
"Oh, no! That's not what I meant, I-"
"Relax." Asami pulled her closer. "I'm having a lovely time with you." The two of them reached the tourney fair grounds and wandered among the stalls before stopping to buy two of the apples roasted in cinnamon that Korra had smelled earlier. Asami unlinked their arms while they ate, much to Korra's dismay, but lingered close as they walked through the throng of people.
Korra bit into her apple. She immediately regretted taking so much. The hot fruit burned on her tongue. She swore, gasping for air as Asami giggled. She glanced over at her. "What?" she asked, swallowing her mouthful.
"Nothing," Asami said. She blew on it for a second and then took a much more reasonable sized bite. "Thank you."
"For the apple?"
"For doing all this." Asami glanced down at her feet. "You didn't have to."
"I know, but I…" Korra struggled to find the right words. "I wanted to."
They continued to explore the fairgrounds. Eventually, they approached a crowd gathered around a stage. A scarred, bald man stood at the center, gesturing to the people as he yelled. His plain tunic and pants wore the dust of the road. Korra observed the way he gestured, his motions practiced. Even from so far away, she could see the signs of wear on his face and hands, the scar tissue healed over so many times.
"Ladies and gentlemen! It is true that there are many here who would claim to show you wonders." He stepped forward. "But my humble troupe and I are here to offer you so much more. What we have here are truly rare and unique talents." He grinned and cartwheeled forward, stopping at the very edge of the stage and leaning forward before bending over backwards and kicking his legs up in the air. Standing on his hands, he looked out at the crowd. He lifted one hand, balancing himself on the flat of one palm. The crowd gasped as he held the position, grinning.
"Should we stay and watch?" Korra asked.
Asami nodded. "All right."
Another man with long, wispy hair and a moustache came onstage with a chair. He placed it behind the acrobat, who somehow managed to bend his body so that his feet ended flat on the chair. He stood atop it easily. The other man handed him another chair. This act continued until he balanced on six chairs total, practically three times his own height in the air.
After the acrobatics, a snake tamer came out on stage. The thin woman carried a python over her shoulders, the great beast practically trailing on the floor of the stage. It looked out on the crowd, tongue flicking in the air. Korra watched in slight fascination and horror as the beast wound its way over the woman's shoulders. She leaned toward the crowd and it lunged, hissing and striking at the air until she pulled back.
The troupe also brought out a fire breather, a tall woman with a third eye tattooed on her forehead. She struck a match and held it to her lips, spitting fire out over the crowd. After watching the troupe carry on for a while, Korra turned to ask Asami if she wanted to leave when the acrobat came on stage again. "For our next demonstration, we will require a volunteer from the audience." He flashed a grin and many people raised their hands and cried out, but he pointed right toward where Korra and Asami stood. "You there, young lady!" he called.
The assistant from earlier was suddenly beside them, placing a hand on Asami's shoulder.
"Yes, that's our volunteer!"
"If the lady is brave enough," he said, gesturing toward the stage.
Asami glanced at Korra, her brow furrowed. Korra only shrugged in return. "Do you want to?" she asked.
Asami shrugged back and allowed the man to lead her to the stage. "What's the harm?" she asked.
"Thank you, madam, for joining us today," said the acrobat. He took Asami's hand and bowed, smiling up at her in a way that made Korra uncomfortable. "Tell me, do you have any fear of knives?" As if to emphasize his point, the other man walked over with a platter laden with throwing stars and knives. He held one up and showed it to the audience.
"I'd have more fear of someone wielding one at me," Asami said. She reached out and picked up a throwing star. "I've forged weapons like this before."
"Ah, you're a craftsman," the acrobat said. He patted her on the shoulder. "Good. Then you know the quality time a person dedicates to learning a skill." He led her to a corner of the stage and positioned her in front of a wooden post. "Your role today, however, requires nothing more than for you to stand perfectly still." He stepped back, smiling. "If you don't, our man might miss." He reached above her and drew a small circle into the wooden post with a piece of chalk. Korra tried to ignore the uneasiness she felt. These were trained professionals. It would not do them any good to hurt their volunteer.
"Don't worry, my dear," said the knife-thrower. He tossed a knife in the air and caught it by the handle. "I don't miss often."
Asami did not reply to their taunts. She simply did as she had been told and stood still. The man tossed a knife. It landed somewhat high, about a head or two above Asami. Korra swallowed back a lump in her throat as he picked up a throwing star and chucked that as well. This time, it missed Asami's head by significantly less.
The rest of the knives were thrown in rapid succession, all thudding into the wood close together. She could see Asami's shoulders relax when the man took a bow to the applauding audience. He gestured at Asami, who stood forward and received even more applause. When she joined Korra, they quietly slipped away from the group.
"That must have been frightening," said Korra as they walked.
Asami nodded. Her hand slipped around Korra's arm once more, pulling her close. "He certainly enjoys his work," she said.
Korra glanced at her, a frown tugging at her lips. "What do you mean?"
"He...would smile right before he threw his knives, like he hoped I would flinch, or move, or something. He was not concerned with making me trust him, but with showing the control that he had."
"At least he didn't hit you," Korra said.
"I know. Still, it was unnerving. One would hope someone with such skill would have the accompanying compassion to go with it."
Korra shrugged once more, hoping her uneasy feeling would leave. "Well, he's only a performer." Asami nodded, but she gazed off in the distance, as if her thoughts were elsewhere. "So, would you like to see how a knight prepares for their joust?" Korra asked.
Finally, Asami turned and smiled at her. "I would love to," she said, allowing Korra to lead her toward the jousting stables. "Besides, I still have my favor to award you, Knight-Commander."
A/N: A big thanks to Ozkit on Tumblr for doing all the amazing artwork for this fic, and for being a helpful proof-reader / sounding board for discussion of ideas. You're a joy to work with!
Join us this Friday at 5 pm pacific time to watch Sy and I play video games. Sometimes Ozkit is there as well to answer questions about the art! It will be a party. Look us up on the twitch channel Luraline and watch for us on Fridays.