172 AG
"Do you want a glass of wine?" Baatar asked, walking back from the cellar, with two glasses.
"No, I don't drink anymore," Kuvira reluctantly refused as she crossed her arms.
"What, did Leena convince you a life of sobriety?" He laughed and uncorked the bottle.
She shot him a threatening glare. "That isn't funny."
He poured a small amount of wine into a glass and slid it closer to her. "Just try it, you would probably like it."
Kuvira raised an eyebrow, looking into the violet red drink. "You remember Leena after all of this time?"
"Well you two were…" he looked up at her, unsure on how to continue. "Entertaining, to say the least."
She smiled slightly, not looking away from the wine. "I always knew you had a thing for her."
"What? That's not true!" His cheeks began to feel warm.
"Don't try to fool me. It was obvious. And still is," she shifted her eyes up at him.
His eyes widened as he tried to understand what she meant.
She tapped one of her fingers on her cheek, indicating she saw the sudden color change in his face. Kuvira then swirled the small amount of wine around in the glass, inhaling the mind-numbing aroma deeply. "Leena and I were a handful back then, weren't we?" She emptied the glass in one swallow.
167 AG
Sweat dripped down Kuvira's back. The sun beat down on them, making the workout more brutal than it typically was. Practice was usually inside, but the girls in the troupe had apparently lost their focus. The sun was going to refocus them. Or at least, that was Suyin's idea.
"Again," Su told to the girls, facing their horizontal line. "And look at least partially graceful this time," she did not look anyone in particular, but Kuvira could not help but to feel she was talking about her.
After Su counted off, the girls moved in a synchronized fashion, and turned to their assigned dance partner. Kuvira felt one of her hands lay on top of the other, and they were pulled down from her head to her chest. Soon they became separated, and one elegantly extended high over her head. The other stayed close to her side, for balance. She bent a knee slightly, slowly raising her foot off the ground. Foot pointed, she lifted her knee as high as she could. At the precise height, her lower leg extended into the air. She slowly flexed her foot. Her thighs felt tight and stressed. Her breathing increased with her exhaustion. She felt a drip of sweat travel down her nose.
Her dance partner looked to be her mirror image, mimicking the same movements. Her facial expression, however, did not have the sort of gracefulness Suyin had asked for. She looked overly irritated and exhausted. Her accurately plucked eyebrows pushed together as she focused on locking ankles with Kuvira's. Both of their stationary legs slightly shook with struggle.
"Up all the way," Suyin spoke aloud as she walked passed Kuvira and her dance partner.
Kuvira exhaled deeply, hoping Su did not catch her flat foot on the ground. She lifted her heel from the ground, and then her only contact with the floor was on the ball of her foot. She looked at her partner, whose frustration seemed to have amplified.
The room was silent, but was also full of fatigue. All of the dancers were breathing heavily, hoping not to be the first one in the group to fall.
"All right, ladies. We're done for the day," Su sounded almost as tired as her dancers had felt. "Same time, same place, tomorrow."
***
"Suyin can be such a bitch," Kuvira's dancing partner bitterly said, ripping off the tape from her arm. "Practice did not need to be that long. Or be outside in the heat."
Kuvira stayed quiet, taking the tape off her own arms. She knew Leena needed to just complain without interruption to feel better. She did, however, agree with what her friend was saying.
"How can you handle living with her?" Leena asked, throwing the tape away in rage.
"I wouldn't have anywhere else to go, honestly," Kuvira answered quietly. It was reality.
Leena looked at her with a fallen, regretful expression. Her usually well-kept short hair was soaked in sweat; she had it cut so the back was shorter than the front, and the longest part just passed her chin. "I don't know why I'm even in this dance troupe. She has it out for me," Leena continued on.
"You would probably end up in prison if she didn't keep you grounded," Kuvira laughed, throwing the tape at her friend. "It would be nice to get back at her, though. I didn't see her break a sweat today."
Leena smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Didn't she just get a new Satomobile?" She had a very mischievous and revengeful tone to her voice.
Kuvira gaped at the idea. Suyin had not given her a Satomobile, since it was so easy to travel through Zaofu. If anything were to happen to her new vehicle, at the hands of a teenaged Kuvira, she really would not have anywhere else to go.
***
Later in the day, when Kuvira knew Suyin had some government issues to work on, she and Leena snuck down into the Beifong Estate garage. Three Satomobiles in pristine condition seemed to sparkle under the bright white garage light. Kuvira knew which one was new, despite never seeing it before. Walking to it, she felt her heart skip with excitement.
It was painted a brilliant, deep green. Silver painted trim lined the vehicle. The nose of the Satomobile was long, and the sides were open to reveal the brilliant mechanics of the engine. Silver metal detailing was placed perfectly along the sides. Large silver wheels held the vehicle up; it looked as though they had yet to be on the road. The Satomobile was open in the back, and the convertible top was pulled all the way back.
Kuvira rippled her fingers on the opening of the door, where its rolled-down window had been, leaning in. Black, glossy leather lined the seats, creating a brilliant interior.
"We are going to get into so much trouble, 'Vira," Leena said, staring into the Satomobile.
"Exactly," Kuvira smiled as she opened the driver's door.
She stepped on the gas, and they nearly flew down the long driveway. Her heart raced with excitement as the Satomobile became faster. Kuvira's thick hair whipped in all directions behind her. A stop sign at an intersection was quickly approaching in the distance. She looked at Leena, raising her eyebrows.
Leena nodded and gave a smile.
Kuvira did not follow the stop sign, but instead drove passed it, increasing in speed. She saw incoming, adjacent traffic at the intersection step on the break, trying to avoid a collision at the last second. Angry car horns sounded at them. They laughed together, but Kuvira could not tell if it was out of exhilaration or nervousness.
She felt a loss of control when the steering wheel sharply turned on its own. Her body jerked to the side, fighting against the force. The Satomobile hardly made the sharp turn. She stepped hard on the breaks, and the vehicle came a screeching halt.
"What are you thinking?!" Kuvira yelled, glaring at Leena.
"You shouldn't be the only one to drive this," Leena challenged her lightly.
"You driving Suyin's Satomobile: you think that would be a good idea, Leena?!"
"And you think you driving is a good idea?"
Kuvira made a face and rolled her eyes. "We have to bring this back. Before she finds out," she allowed the vehicle to move forward again.
Sirens sounded in the distance, seeming to draw closer.
"I think Suyin found out," Leena said, wide-eyed.
Kuvira cursed under her breath and started to drive off. Ignoring all road signs again, she made an attempt to beeline back to the Beifong Estate. The sirens grew closer. Leena shouted at her to drive faster. She did all she could to ignore it.
The steering wheel jerked out of Kuvira's control once more. They managed to cut another driver off while shifting lanes.
"Are you trying to get us caught?" Kuvira shouted, trying to regain control.
"We will if you keep driving," Leena yelled back, her hand in the air to keep bending the steering. "Just let me drive."
Kuvira turned the wheel back into her control. Leena fought back for it. The Satomobile veered from side to side. They saw the police behind them, lights illuminating red and blue. Kuvira looked away from the road to at Leena. Her eyebrows pushed together, and her eyes were wide. Leena gave the same expression. At the corner of her eye, Leena saw something that took away her attention. She went from giving her friend a frustrated look, to staring wide-eyed at the road in front of them. Kuvira shifted her attention to the road. She soon saw why Leena looked so frightened.
Suyin Beifong's Satomobile drove straight into a light post at a three-way intersection. The front of the vehicle wrapped around the pole, killing the engine instantly. Steam lifted from the exposed engine. Kuvira felt herself forced forward at the impact. Her cheek hit the edge of the steering wheel, and she felt a bruise begin to form already. It felt as though an anvil made of regret rested on her chest.
"We are going to get into so much trouble, 'Vira," Leena said, rubbing her head.
Kuvira exhaled and let her head fall forward. She rested her forehead on the steering wheel.
The guard officers decided it was a better option to bring the girls to the Beifong Estate. Have Suyin decide what to do with them.
"I cannot believe you two had the audacity to do this!" Suyin stood at her desk in front of the two girls, sitting in front of her. "I try to run this city with stability, and then you turn around and do this."
Kuvira and Leena winced at the words. Neither of them could look her in the eye.
"You girls caused a lot of damage. That building you drove into? It needs a new face built. The light pole needs to be rewired with a new fixture. You drove into the side of someone else's Satomobile!"
"Actually, we hardly clipped the front corner of it," Leena spoke up, becoming tired of being reprimanded.
Suyin straightened her back. "Leena, you need to leave."
Leena's eyes widened as she stared at her. She tried to speak, but could not find words. She could not leave Zaofu – where would she go?
"Leena. Get out of my office. Now."
Leena shifted her eyes to Kuvira, who was staring at her feet. Quickly, she got to her feet and headed for the door.
"Your parents already have been informed of this," Su called out to her.
Kuvira thought she heard Leena curse under her breath as she disappeared.
Suyin and Kuvira were in the office in complete silence. The younger woman thought she was going to become insane by listening to her own nervous breathing.
"Why do you keep doing this?" Suyin asked, in a frustrated and worried tone. "You keep committing these childish acts! And for what? Where does it get you?"
Kuvira did not lift her eyes. She folded her arms and sunk lower in her chair.
"I don't know how much more of this I can handle. It's like you're addicted to causing trouble here!" Suyin paused to catch her breath. "Is this what you want? Do you want to be sent away?"
"Like the way you were sent away?" Kuvira met Su's eyes, challenging her.
Su's face fell. She sat down behind her desk, and rested her head in her hand. "I have every right to remove you from my home. From Zaofu. Permanently," she spoke quietly, after another long moment of silence. "But, I can't do that. I have made mistakes, too. But I never was able to redeem myself from my mistakes in the right way."
After a long conversation with Suyin, Kuvira was dismissed from the office. She felt as if she had just been verbally slapped. She turned to the door, quietly closing it. She then turned around, sighing with relief. Without realizing it, she took a few steps right into someone walking in the opposite direction. Su's oldest son, Baatar had his hands full with long schematic drawings. They both had the same look of shock on their faces.
"Enjoy the Satomobile?" He asked, shifting the schematics so it would be easily to hold.
Kuvira looked through the window behind them. She could see in the distance, a newly-wrecked, expensive Satomobile. "Please don't tell your dad," she finally asked of him, returning back to the moment.
Baatar then looked out the window, seeing the damage for himself. He had heard rumors, but could not believe them. They were mostly true. He turned back to her and smiled, "I can fix that."