.

.

.

.

Tenzin led Korra way from the two twins but the young Avatar was far from calm. "Can you believe her?!" she exclaimed to her father, "I mean, just who does she think she is, anyways? Okay, sure she's a princess but I'm the Avatar! And her cousin!"

"Korra!" Tenzin stopped her by gripping her shoulders and turning her around to face him, "I understand your frustration, but maybe it would be best if we went back home."

Korra slowly backed away from her father, visibly shocked by this. "What?! No, no we can't leave!"

"I don't think it's safe for you to be here anymore. You saw what that thing did, it nearly killed you!"

Korra scoffed and crossed her arms in frustration. "I didn't get hurt." she stated. "Besides, you seriously expect me to just leave these people while this spirit with a temper tantrum is out there and could come back who knows when? I thought it was the Avatar's job to help the spirits."

"Yes, but you are still behind on your spiritual training."

"And who's fault is that."

Tenzin's eyes widened, "Excuse me, young lady?"

"All my life you've told me stories about the spirits but ever since I became the Avatar you barely brought it up. I've already mastered the four elements why haven't you taught me about the spirit world?"

She noticed the hesitation in her father's eyes as he slightly turned his gaze away from her. He shut his eyes closed for a moment before looking back at her sternly. "I don't think you're quite ready, Korra."

"When will I be ready, then? When you say so? I'm not eight-years-old anymore, you can't keep telling me what to do!"

"As your father, I have that right!" he stated firmly. Finally, Korra could take no more and started walking away. "Korra, where are you going?"

"To go see my boyfriend!"

"Your what?!"

Tenzin did not expect to hear that from her. When did she get a boyfriend? When and how? Was it that firebender boy? It couldn't be anybody else. The air nomad lost more of his patience when his daughter ignored his calls.

"Korra, I'm talking to you! Korra!"

As the crowd dispersed, Mako scanned everywhere until he spotted her. Korra was walking towards him, her long loose white hair bellowing in the cold winter winds, making her look like a stunning ice princess with a smile that could melt any heart. Korra smiled his way, relieved to finally see a face that was not an authority figure. Technically speaking, Mako was a cop, but at least he didn't tell Korra how to live her life.

The two teens smiled, rather shyly, at one another. They were still getting accustomed to this new level they were in, but at the same time they felt content with it. It was like going into a scary looking ride but once you're on it you never want it to end.

"Hey." he said first.

"Hi." she replied.

Their two friends, Bolin and Asami, were right beside them observing the two. Bolin arched an eyebrow at his now dorky brother while Asami shared the same expression at her friend, who was acting so shy and girly unlike anything she had seen before. She didn't know if to find this adorable…or downright weird.

"So, what do we do now?" Bolin whispered to his girlfriend who whispered back.

"I don't know, I didn't think we'd get this far."

Luckily, Korra broke the silence first, "So, I was thinking we still haven't gone to the festival yet. You want to check it out with me?"

Mako felt so relieved Korra was a woman who liked to take charge, it helped because he was extremely new to all of this. "That'd be great. But wait, what about the-"

"Don't worry." Korra intervened, smiling at him, "If any of those monsters shows up again I'll be there to protect you."

Mako arched an eyebrow at her, "You'll protect me?"

"Hey, somebody's got to keep you from hurting yourself again."

All Mako could do was chuckle, he knew Korra meant well with that saying. She was protective of the people she cared about. One of the many, many things he adored about her.

To surprise him even more, Korra was the first to take him by the hand and lead the way towards the festival. The two teens enjoyed the moment, while their friends just stood there, watching them leave. Korra turned her head towards them, waving with her free hand.

"Latter, guys! Don't wait up!"

Bolin and Asami stood jaw dropped. "What just happened?" Bolin asked.

"I think we just got dumped." Asami said, still surprised.

"It starts. Ya think you know somebody."

(~)

However, somebody high up above the highest tower watched the scenery…especially his niece walking hand in hand with the firebender boy. The door opened, and Yuki walked into the room, bowing in respect.

"You called for me, sir?"

"Yuki, can you explain to me what that is?" he pointed his finger towards down bellow, the darkness of the room shielding his face so he could not be seen. Yuki leaned froward and saw the young happy couple.

"A problem?"

"Indeed. Perhaps you could…fix it, for me."

Yuki bowed at the mysterious man. "With pleasure, good sir."

(~)

The festival was abuzz with life and energy. Despite the occurrences from last night, people did their best to make the most out of this situation. Children played games, folks ate sugary pastries and all kinds of sweets, ridding on the ferris wheel and various water themed rides. However, one air nomad was not having so much fun. His children played a game where they would shoot water from a gun at a chibi version of Avatar Aang. The one who spayed the most water into his mouth won a prize. Ikki won the game and the man handed her her prize: a giant stuffed sky bison.

Pema was having a wonderful time seeing her children have fun, but was concern about her husband. "Tenzin, please. Try to enjoy yourself."

But the man only crossed his arms, pouting, "I can't believe she would say that to me!"

"In her defense, you were being a bit unfair."

"Unfair?! I'm only trying to protect her! And now she has the nerve to tell me she has a boyfriend? Where did that even come from?!"

"Oh, come on now. Mako's a very nice boy. He has a good job and he's great with the kids."

Tenzin suddenly jolted, "Kids?! What kids?! She's too young to-"

"I meant our kids."

"Oh…sorry."

"Honey, when are you finally going to come to grips that she can't be your little girl forever? You've already allowed her to be the Avatar and make her own everyday choices, why can't you be happy for her that she's not only found a lost part of her past but also found someone who cares about her as much as we do?"

Tenzin didn't know how to answer that. Yes, he came to grips with Korra being the Avatar and needing to take great responsibility. He's managed to allow her to make her own choices, but recently his fears of loosing her were resurfacing. First she finds her long lost uncle, who knows if he will want her to come with him, and even if he did ask he can't make the choice for her, no matter how much he wished he could make her stay. And now, she was in a relationship with a boy. Granted, a boy he was familiar with and, in all honesty, Korra could have done worse. But now, with these spirits running amok, he didn't know if this was safe for her anymore.

Pema placed her hand over his shoulder, "She'll be fine. Trust her."

(~)

While everyone was enjoying the rest of the festival, the dragon birds each took their own routes to explore the place. Pinkie Pie was already gorging on sweets on top of one of the booths while Rainbow Dash and Rarity tried to find Korra and Mako. The white dragon bird found them walking from down bellow…holding hands!

Rarity squealed with delight, "I see them! I see them! Oh, aren't they just the cutest little things?"

Rainbow then shoved her to the side, "Move, I can't see a thing!"

Pinkie Pie came in between the two, "Let me see! Let me see!"

The rest of the dragon birds came up to see them as well, so far they weren't doing anything besides talking. "What are they talking about down there?" Sunset asked.

"Let's get a closer look." said Twilight as she spread open her wings and the seven of them landed on a second booth, closer to the two, who were now playing one of the carnival games where they tossed a ball at the bottles to knock them over.

"So, what did you and your uncle talk about last night?" Mako asked as they each took a turn in knocking the bottles down.

Hearing this, Rainbow Dash face palmed herself, "Are you kidding me?!" she could not believe he was talking about this while the two were on a date. If they could call it that.

"He offered to train me." Korra explained, "He says he can teach me about the spirits and my connection to them. Maybe even figure out how to keep them from acting out like they did last night."

This information got the girls' attention and listened attentively as Korra explained.

"What does your dad think?" Mako asked.

At the mention of this, Korra groaned in frustration. "He thinks it's not safe for me here and wants to drag me back home. I swear, sometimes it feels like I'm more his prisoner than his daughter!"

Out of frustration, Korra threw the ball directly at the bottles, knocking them down in one single blow, winning her the game and a stuffed Appa. The two began walking again while Korra continued to explain her situation.

"You heard what Unalaq said. The south is spiritually unbalanced and as the Avatar I should be involved, but my father won't even let me think about Unalaq training me."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Honestly…I don't know." her shoulders dropped in disappointment, "I've only been the Avatar for a few months now and I still feel like I barely know how to be one. I thought by this point I would have completed my training but I still feel like there's so much more for me to learn and do. I have all of this responsibility and I don't want to mess up or disappoint anybody." realizing how much she just said Korra turned her gaze away from him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be dumping all of this on you."

"No, no it's okay." he insisted while smiling in reassurance, "I don't mind."

Korra's cheek flushed with red, "It's a lot of responsibility just for one kid, you know?"

"Believe me, I understand completely. Having an adult job while still learning to grow up isn't easy." he said, reminiscent of his past when it was just him and his brother.

Realizing this, she intertwined her fingers with his. This gesture felt so right.

"I feel like I can tell you anything." she said, which only made him blush and his heart speed up. Despite the dark spirit attack and his wounded arm, this was turning out to be a fantastic day.

Korra then started leading him away from the carnival. "I want to show you something."

(~)

Asami and Bolin were having just as much fun enjoying each other's company, especially with sitting together on a bench and feeding each other cotton candy. Bolin, like a gentlemen, offered to get them some drinks. While on his way Bolin had the unwanted pleasure of bumping into Korra's cousins, Eska and Desna. The earthbender flinched when he saw them. These two were the immediate definition of creepy. But, they were Korra's cousins, so maybe he should at least try to be nice to them.

"Um, hey, I'm Bolin. I'm a friend of Korra." he greeted her politely but received no response from the stoic princess. "So, you're Eska and Desna, right? Wow, those are some…very nice robes you guys got there." the poor young boy flinched when the princess shot him an annoyed glare. He turned to the man behind the stand and asked for two drinks to go. While he waited he continued to try and make small talk with them. "Sooo, you guys are from the north, right? Cool, I heard a lot about the place, really…icy." he tapped his fingers on the counter, wondering why the man was taking so long.

"What do people see in her?" Eska finally broke the silence by speaking first. "My cousin. Why does everyone acknowledge her so fondly."

"Oh, well I guess it's because she's basically just a really great person. She's nice, and smart and fun and pretty, and she makes my brother happy. Plus, she's like the best friend I've ever had!"

"And you have known her long?"

"Several months, but I feel like I've known her for years. I owe a lot to her, I mean if it weren't for her I never would have met Asami."

"Is she that raven haired woman you spend so much time with?" Desna asked.

"Yep. I'm one lucky guy!" the man behind the counter finally gave Bolin his drinks and prepared to leave, "Well, nice talking with you." but before he could leave he felt his feet suddenly stop moving. He looked down to see that Eska has frozen them to the ground. He blinked at them in fear.

Desna turned to his sister, "He knows much about our unwanted cousin. Perhaps he can be of use to us in our quest to getting rid of her."

"I agree. And perhaps it would be interesting to spend time with a person who's ways are so rough and uncultured." Eska shot Bolin a wicked smile. "You amuse me. I will make you mine."

Bolin did not like the sound of that at all. "Oh, wow, that's a-a really nice offer, really, but my girlfriend's waiting so-eep!" he yelped like a baby when Eska took hold of his collar and started dragging him along with her.

"Win me prizes." she ordered him. Bolin struggled to break free but this woman's grip was stone hard. How was he going to explain this to Asami?

Speaking of Asami, the young heiress went to look for her boyfriend after being strangely gone for a long while.

"Bolin? Where'd he go?" Asami looked around to find him but so far there wasn't any signs of him. The heiress then flinched when she saw Eska's lady in waiting standing in front of her, holding her hands up in surrender.

"Easy, it's just me."

Asami placed her hand over her already racing heart. "Oh, I'm sorry. You startled me."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just looking for my boyfriend. He went to get us some drinks but now it's like he just disappeared."

"You better be careful. Lost of angry spirits roaming around here."

"I'm sure he can take care of himself." Asami said confidently. She knew her man well enough to know he was strong and much more clever than he looked.

"Speaking of boyfriends, I was hoping I could ask you for some advice. I was going to ask Korra but she's already busy."

"Well, sure of course. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"It's Yuki."

"Yuki? Like the snow, right?"

"Yeah, my mom picked it."

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Can we walk and talk?"

Asami didn't want to be rude but she really wanted to look for Bolin. However, this girl really did seem to want advice on how to get a boy to like her. Her big shimmering blue eyes were enough to have Asami reconsider. She didn't have the heart to leave this sweet younger woman by herself, especially with the two royal pains she needed to endure. Maybe she could make a new friend.

"Well, okay sure."

"Thanks!" Yuki could not begin to describe how happy she was…very happy.

From above the dragon birds eyed this young woman skeptically. They all agreed to keep a close eye on her. Whatever it was she was planing, they needed to be fore before telling Korra. They hoped it was just their imaginations.

(~)

Mako was confused as to where Korra was leading him. The young Avatar seemed pretty excited for something but she still wouldn't tell him what it was. She climbed up a snowy hill with Mako close behind. Seeing his struggle, she helped him up.

"We're almost there." she assured him. She hoisted him up but he stumbled, causing the two to slide down the hill slope while holding onto each other. Luckily, the snow was as soft as a pillow so the two teens only laughed at their antics, removing the snow off of their bodies as they helped each other to stand up.

"So, what's so special about this place?" he asked.

"You'll see." she said with a wink and continued leading forward. The two reached the shoreline, where a vast ocean awaited, along with various icebergs raising almost as high as a building. Korra looked around the place and spotted a nearby cave of ice and snow, covered by a large bolder. Using her earthbending she removed the bolder and looked inside. She smiled with glee.

"Yes! It's still here!"

Mako watched her curiously as she began pulling something from inside the cave. It was a small canoe built for two but found that there was no paddle. He figured as much since Korra is a waterbender.

"What's the boat for?"

"It's how we're going to get there." noticing his skeptical look but she reassured him, "Don't worry we're not going very far. You'll love it, I promise."

Mako had never been on a boat before, at least not a canoe, and certainly not in the frozen cold waters of the south pole. Korra managed to effortlessly push the boat onto the waters and got in.

"Hope on."

"Is it safe?" he asked, inspecting the antique contraption.

"Sure, don't you trust me?"

Mako was a bit surprised she would ask that of him. "What?"

"Do you trust me?" she smiled almost as if she knew what the answer already was. She offered him her hand and he didn't even need a second to rethink this. He already has his answer.

"Always."

He got onto the boat, sitting at the front while Korra stood behind him. "Hang on!" Mako did as she asked and held tightly onto the sides of the boat just when Korra moved her arms and the boat speeded forward as if it were a speedboat instead of a canoe. At first, Mako was rather terrified at how fast they were going, especially with so many icebergs in their way. But Korra remained confident, she nimbly dodged each and every single iceberg with perfect ease, she knew this area like the back of her hand so escaping them was easy. Once they were cleared up, the ocean was the limits and it was smooth sailing ahead. The speed seemed to diminish even though they were still going at the same speed as before but now, instead of being afraid, Mako was having the time of his life.

The young firebender was laughing and waving his hands up like the little boy he missed out on being. This was truly an amazing experience. Korra couldn't help but share in his joy, he looked so happy it made her happy.

Korra recognized the area and began slowing down the boat, stopping in front of what looked like the most strangely formed iceberg Mako had ever seen. It was perfectly preserved, almost as if it was 'frozen' in time. Korra jumped off first and helped Mako out, assisting him in walking on the stunning ice.

The object looked like it was once formed into a large rounded shape, only now it appeared something had broken it apart from within. He wondered what could have caused such a formation, but even if he did know it could not take away the majesty of the object.

"It's amazing." he said, nearly breathless.

Korra approached it, placing her hand over the ice. "My Gran Gran first took me here when I was little. We come to visit every year on her birthday. And every year, she would take me to see this. It's her favorite place in the whole world."

Mako started connecting the dots and now fully realized what this iceberg really was. "This is where they met, wasn't it? Your grandparents."

"Yeah. When they got older, I took Ikki, Jinora and Meelo here too."

"I've heard the stories." said Mako, "About how Aang was trapped in an iceberg during the hundred year war. Your grandmother found him and-"

"And he knew." Korra added, still smiling as she marveled at the iceberg like she would an old family portrait, which in a way, this kind of was. "This is a part of my history. My past. Every time I come here I feel like I can see it perfectly in my mind. When Aang broke free. When he and Katara first looked into each other's eyes. He felt a connection so quickly. As fast as lightning." after a brief moment of silence, she chuckled turning back to him. "I know, pretty corny, right?"

"Not at all." the young man smiled warmly as he stepped closer to the object and at the very spot where Aang first emerged all those years ago. "Has Asami ever seen this?"

Korra slightly lowered her head, "No. I've told her about it once, but nobody else but my family has ever really been here. I-I can't explain why but, I felt like I really needed to show this to you."

She didn't know why she just said that to him. It was the truth but still, it did sound rather strange out of context. Sometimes she just couldn't understand these Avatar feelings she would often get at times. She blushed as she tried not to look him in the eye out of embarrassment.

"Bet that sounds really weird, right?"

All his life, Mako would often try to avoid opening himself up and giving in to anything that offered unbelievable promises which, logically, would end in heartache if he didn't have a grip on reality. For this moment, and for a while now, he tore those walls down completely. He didn't care if this could as well be all a dream that he would wake up from at any moment. If this was only a moment, he would rather have it now than spend his whole life wondering 'what if'. He took Korra's hands, gazing deeply into her eyes, gently caressing her face.

"Tell me more about them." he insisted.

Korra was only more than happy to continue on with how her adopted grandparents met and what they went through over the years, even if it wasn't always perfect.

"Gran Gran would tell me and the kids stories about their adventures. The good times and the bad. Listening to them always gave me hope. I wanted to see the world like they did, stir my own course, write my own story." her fingers traced over the ice. Despite it being cold, her heart felt warm as memories replayed in her mind.

Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly

Just a little change

Small to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared

Once upon a dream…

Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

Ever just as sure

As the sun will rise…

Even though Korra was referring to Katara and Aang's past, he couldn't help but wonder if she could also be subtly referring to their relationship. All of this was just too good to be true, and for once, he didn't even care.

Mako:Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Bittersweet and strange

Finding you can change

Learning you were wrong…

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

A tale as old as time

Song a old as rhyme

Once upon a dream

Together: Tale as old as time...

Song a old as rhyme…

Once upon a…

Dream…

Just like the night before, their fingers intertwined like the two pieces of a puzzle perfectly fitting together. Their faces drew in closer and their eyes slowly closed, their lips only inches apart. However, their moment was ruined when suddenly the iceberg started to shake. The two tried to help each other keep their balance but the iceberg just started to move like crazy, nearly tumbling them over. Mako slipped and fell straight into the water, the impact already knocking him unconscious. Korra quickly dove down after him and managed to pull him up to the surface. He breathed in for oxygen as she helped him onto the canoe. Just as it mysteriously started, the iceberg slowly stopped moving before standing perfectly still as it always did. Korra couldn't understand how this happened, but the worse was yet to come.

A huge piece of the ice started to crack and crumbled at the seems before Korra's eyes. The large piece plummeted into the sea. Her heart broke in two. This iceberg was a part of her past, her heritage, and now it had been party violated by some unknown force. Mako felt sympathy for Korra, this place did mean a lot to her.

"I don't understand." she said, trying her best to fight back the tears. "This never happened before."

"How did the ice move like that?" Mako asked, equally confused.

The two then spotted something moving underneath the canoe, something purple and glowing, staring right at them before zooming away like a speedboat, nearly knocking the two off of their little boat. It was a dark spirit no doubt.

There was no question about it anymore. Korra now knew what she needed to do.

(~)

Can't make this any longer guys, I've got to take my mom to the movies. It's her B-Day! We're going to see "Inside Out!" Thankfully, I had the time to finish this little number. It was nearly done for a while now and today I finally finished it.

Hope you guys like it and sorry for the long wait. Busy with school, and I didn't want to abandon the LPL. Not sure when I'll get to Tale of Equestria, depending on what I need to do, but I hope you guys enjoyed this. And don't worry, I'm not going to make Korra and Mako 'boring love disney' here. It's just the first couple of days of their new relationship, trust me, things are going to be heating up now. *squee*

God bless, *kiss kiss*