Asami rose from the stands with the rest of the others. The award ceremony would take place off the field, and she did not want to get lost in the throng of people making their way onto the fairgrounds. "Where are you off to?" she asked Jinora.
The mage apprentice shrugged. "I suppose I'll see what the fairground is offering, unless Kai can get away from his duties."
"Jinora!" a familiar voice called in the crowd.
Asami laughed. "Speaking of which…"
Jinora grinned, turning and looking for Kai amidst the people. "Over here!" she called back, waving.
He pushed past a group of nobles leaving the stands, not even stopping to apologize when they cursed at him. He finally reached the two of them and stopped short. Jinora took a hesitant step forward, but then stopped. Kai blushed and put a hand to the back of his head. "Um...hi," he said.
"Hi," Jinora replied.
Asami cleared her throat. "Is there something you needed, Kai? Or should I leave you two alone?"
His face turned bright red. "Oh! Yes. The Knight-Commander asked that I take you to the Victor's Ceremony. They'll be awarding her first prize for the joust, soon."
Asami smiled. There had been nothing more gratifying than seeing her knock Tahno off his horse. "Well, lead the way." She offered her arm and Kai took it. Jinora took hold of his other arm.
"I'll come, too," she said.
Kai's face reddened even further as he looked between the two of them. "I...of course. Right this way, my ladies." As they walked Kai kept glancing at Asami out of the corner of his eye.
After about the third time Asami finally spoke, "Kai, whatever it is, just ask."
He gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry...I just wondered if it was really your favor on Korra's lance."
Asami felt her face heat. She glanced at the ground, avoiding their gazes. "It was."
"Wait, what?" Jinora asked. "She asked you to favor her?"
"Asked is not the way I would put it. I offered to make a favor, and she accepted. It's nothing special. Korra was simply being honorable." She tried to sound nonchalant.
"Uh huh…" Kai grinned. "So what was Korra saying about collecting a reward from you?"
"I-I don't know what you mean."
"Didn't you say that if she unhorsed Tano you'd -" Asami reached around Kai and shoved Jinora, shooting her a glare. Jinora stifled a laugh but didn't comment further. The closer they got to the awards tent, the more anxiety Asami felt. Surely Korra thought I was joking. Well, I wasn't joking, but Korra doesn't know that. Does she? Does she want me to kiss her? Maybe I could get away with a kiss on the cheek? She frowned as she tried to determine the best course of action. Did she want to kiss Korra? And what if the whole nobility looked on? It was an award ceremony, after all. The Earth Queen would be there! What kind of talk would that make?
"Asami?" Kai asked.
"Hm?"
"We're here." He nodded toward the tent.
Jinora unhooked her arm from Kai and placed it on Asami's shoulder. "Are you going to be alright?"
"Of course." She caught sight of the Knight-Commander striding confidently into the pavilion. She tried to ignore the way her heart raced. "It's just Korra after all."
The large tent was surrounded by a ring of people who waited for the ceremony to begin. Korra scanned the crowd until she finally spotted Asami, Kai, and Jinora. She motioned for them to come closer and the trio made their way into the tent.
"Ladies." Korra bowed as they approached. When she straightened she heard the soft clink of Asami's necklace against her armor. She noted that Asami's gaze darted down and widened at the sight of the favor around her neck.
"You called for me, Knight-Commander?" Her voice sounded strange.
"It would only be fitting to have you here m'lady. After all, I won in your name." Korra took a step closer. "And it is my understanding that I will be awarded two prizes this day."
Asami smiled. "Of course. I am a lady who keeps her word."
Korra returned the smile. Alright, here's your moment Korra. Don't mess this up. Korra took a breath. "Perhaps it would be better to have a more...private award ceremony? After this one I mean."
Asami's jaw went slack. "I…" She cleared her throat. "Are you certain?"
"I am. But I would understand if I've misinterpreted or-"
"No!" Asami interrupted. A few people turned to look at the outburst. They both blushed. "That is, I was just surprised. I was not aware you…" Asami glanced at the tent full of people. "That you would value such a reward."
Korra took another step forward. "More than all the gold I've won today," she said softly. Their eyes met and for a moment Korra wished she could just skip the ceremony. All the subtle comments that people had made, especially the past week, made sense. Asami likes me. She's liked me for some time now, and I am a flaming idiot.
"Korra, we're ready to begin." Tonraq's voice jarred her from the moment.
Korra smiled apologetically. "I'll only be a moment." She wanted to take Asami's hand and kiss it, but she forced herself to walk to her father. She joined him on the stage with the Earth Queen and the other tourney champions
"It is my honor to have the Earth Queen present the champions with their prizes!" Tonraq said. "For the sword fighting competition, I am pleased to present to you Sir Mako as your tournament champion!" A cheer rose from the people and Mako stepped forward to accept his reward. Korra grinned as Mako bowed stiffly and quickly retreated back to his place in the line of champions. Korra tried not to be impatient. The joust champion would be announced last, and so she would have to wait through the entire ceremony before she would be able to speak with Asami alone. She wanted to look at her, but didn't want to draw any attention. She ended up scanning the crowd for her anyway, but only saw unfamiliar faces of the nobility.
Except for the knife thrower. Korra paused when she saw him standing there, hands folded. She did not see any of the other troupe members standing with him. It should not have mattered. She tried to let her mind wander to what the evening might hold, but could not settle on the pleasant thoughts. Something felt off. Something was wrong. If Korra had her sword she would have gripped the hilt for reassurance. She wanted to demand everyone to clear the area. Yes, that would go over well. Make a scene just because you have a gut feeling. She did not trust the way he smirked, the way he looked at them as if he knew something they could not.
Korra looked back to the Earth Queen. She held up a trophy and gestured at her. The other tournament winners had parted, making way for her to walk up. Korra took a step forward, turning away from the crowd. She heard a gasp. Someone in the audience cried out. Korra turned and saw someone moving forward in the crowd. A glint of steel flashed in the sunlight and she raised her arm. Something thudded into her right pauldron and she cried out. She saw the acrobat vault the stage. Her father drew his sword and charged but the firebreather mounted the stage as well, catching him around the middle before turning him and throwing him from the stage.
"Father!" She ran for him while the other knights moved to catch the knife-thrower. Someone yelled about a snake. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Her shoulder hurt; something pinched the skin. When she made it to the edge of the stage, she saw her father laying on his back, staring wide-eyed up at the sky and gasping.
"Not me!" he croaked. "The queen! Get the queen!"
She heard more screams. "Save me! Someone help!" Korra moved to protect the Earth Queen, but it was too late. The acrobat had her in his grip, knife to her neck. He looked right at Korra, grinned, and then slid the blade of the dagger across the Earth Queen's throat, turning her shrieks in a grotesque gurgle before dying out.
He let her body drop and Korra ran to close the distance between them. He vaulted off the stage and sprinted away. Her armor slowed her too much. She knew she would never catch him. She looked for the other troupe members, but all of them had vanished from the crowd. Even the knights, who gave chase, had not managed to capture a single person.
"Does anyone have a horse?" Korra called. "I need a horse!" But no one listened. The crowd surged around the stage, people crying for help. She brought her fingers to her lips and blew a sharp whistle. "Naga!" she called. Too many people ran around the field. Too many people, too much screaming. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the sight of blood trailing over the stage floor. Her arm felt numb. She groped behind her shoulder and could feel a needle protruding from just under her paldron, lodged between the chain links.
"Korra!" Asami was pushing her way through the people. Naga galloped into view. Korra glanced between Naga and Asami. She staggered for Naga. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To stop them," said Korra. She tried to pull herself onto the horse, but her right arm refused to move. "Naga, come on, kneel."
"You can't even fight!" Asami grabbed her and pulled back. "What do you expect to do if you even catch them?"
"They killed the queen!"
"And they're gone, so stay here before they kill you!" Korra ignored her, trying once again to pull herself atop Naga. The world would not stay in focus. "You don't even have a weapon!" Asami's voice sounded farther away. She slumped against Naga. "Korra?"
"I…" She shook her head, trying to clear her focus. "I need to…" Her eyes closed, and they were too heavy to open again.
"Korra!"
The last thing she felt was Asami's arms wrapping around her.
Korra woke up to pain. She groaned and tried to move, but her joints screamed at her. "Don't move," someone said. She felt a warm hand on her forehead. "You need a few more hours rest. The poultice needs time to work."
With some effort, Korra managed to open her eyes. Tenzin sat by her, smiling down at her in a relieved way. "What happened?" she asked.
"You were exposed to a poison designed to shut down a person's body. Luckily, the dosage was small enough and Asami got you here to me in time." Tenzin nodded to the other side of her bed. Korra craned her neck to see Asami sitting next to her, a look of worry etched in her brow.
"My father…"
"He's fine. He is with the Earth Kingdom dignitaries as we speak." Tenzin frowned and shook his head. "I simply cannot believe they would be so bold. A public attack is unprecedented for them."
"Who...who do you mean? Who attacked?"
"They call themselves the Red Lotus," Tenzin explained. "They are an assassination group that has worked in the shadows for quite some time now. I had thought their order all but extinct." Tenzin shook his head and sighed. "I should never have thought Zaheer would quietly slip away. Of course they were just waiting."
"I don't understand." Korra looked between the two of them. She managed to pull herself higher up against her pillows. "Why did they assassinate the Earth Queen? Why not capture or ransom her?"
"They don't want power," said Tenzin. "They want only chaos." He hesitated a moment, gaze darting from Korra to his folded hands. "Killing the queen here just raises tension between the two kingdoms." He rubbed his forehead. "Things are going to be very complicated from here on out, Korra."
"What's going to happen?" she asked. She looked to Asami again, but the blacksmith stared at the floor. "Asami?"
She met Korra's gaze for a moment, her green eyes shimmering. "No one knows, Korra."
The three of them were silent for a moment. Korra hated being stuck in bed recovering while the kingdom prepared for possible war. She looked at Asami again and cleared her throat. "Tezin, if you don't mind, I need to discuss something with Asami alone."
His brows raised and he nearly tripped over himself as he stood to leave. "Of course, Knight- Commander." He left and shut the door behind him. Asami looked at her expectantly.
"Asami, I'm sorry."
"For what? None of this is your fault-" Asami moved to grab her hand.
"No." Korra sighed. "I wanted today to be…" A new start? A chance at something more? "I had so much I wanted to say. So much I wanted to talk to you about." It would have been easier before. If she had realized a day sooner...
"There's no reason you can't say it now."
"But there are. There are so many reasons Asami." She clutched the blanket tightly, unwilling to take hold of Asami. "I've only just realized how much you...how much I… and now it doesn't matter."
"Don't be an idiot, of course it matters."
"Asami, I know you and Tenzin tried to hide it from me, but there's only one outcome here." She closed her eyes and grit her teeth against the word she hated. "War. War will come again, and I will have to go and fight in it."
"So are you going to sit there and tell me you're closing yourself off from me for my own good? That it'll hurt less to see you leave?"
Korra shook her head. "No. It's going to hurt no matter what I say. But I'll not have you dragged down with me."
Asami withdrew her hand. "Dragged down...what?"
"Who do you think they are going to blame?" Korra asked. "Half of the kingdom already hates me. You know they already call me Kingslayer. It's a simple matter to add a queen to that tally."
Asami shook her head. "Korra, no one blames you."
"No? Look me in the eye and tell me honestly that they won't use me as a scapegoat again." Just as she thought, Asami could not meet her gaze.
"Korra...even if they do, this is my decision, too."
"No."
"Excuse me?" Asami's brow furrowed. The bite in her tone hurt, but Korra had to continue.
"No, I won't let you do this. You've worked too hard to get where you are, to make a name for yourself that isn't attached to your father. I still remember how hard you had to fight just to get people to take you seriously. I don't want them associating you with me, and when I leave, they won't."
"I won't let you do this." Tears formed in her eyes. They spilled over, crawling down her cheeks.
Korra shook her head. "You don't have a choice."
A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone. Busy week! Here is chapter 8, though. Thank you very much to Ozkit for drawing fantastic stuff for this project. Go check her out on Tumblr! Just to let you all know, Sy will be livestreaming on twitch via the channel Luraline this Friday at 5 pm pacific time, and quite possibly might be joined by Ozkit, who has made appearances from time to time. See you all in a week!