Thank you so much for the reviews so far, they mean a lot to me. This story is still un beta'd so I apologize for any typos. I hope you ejoy Chapter 2. Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Korra or The Hunger Games.
Rain poured down from the sky drenching Tenzin while he waited outside of Lin Bei Fong's town house. Growing inpatient he raised his hand to knock on the door again but he was beat by Lin opening the door. She was dressed in her metal police chief uniform a cross expression on her face. "How could you have let this happen?" was all she said while Tenzin hung his dripping outer robes on the coat hanger in the entryway.
The whole house was painted a dark green with gold crown molding, matching the gleaming metals of valor and public service that hung proudly on the walls. Most thought the colors were meant to symbolize the Bei Fong family, only Lin and those close to her knew they symbolized her connection with her lost element.
Tenzin took a moment to compose himself regaining his normal calm manor after the abrupt greeting. "We both know that Korra's reaping had nothing to do with me. You were supposed to have someone take her name out of the bowl."
"Although, I have no idea what happened with that part of the plan, I'm talking about her training. Does Korra even know who she is?"
"As far as I know she doesn't." He resigned.
"You were supposed to take her in and train her that was the plan."
"I know that. You didn't know her like I did. Every time I even mentioned bending she completely shut down."
"That's irrelevant. She was our only chance. How are we supposed to win a war when The Avatar is afraid of bending?"
"Lin, we don't know if Korra would ever have the ability to give us back our bending. We've been over this." She looked up at his steel gray eyes, her green ones softened. He was right. There had been legends, rumors but nothing ever confirmed that The Avatar had the ability to restore bending.
"I just hope I didn't have to orchestrate that raid for nothing." Lin resigned.
"The only question left is how are we going to get her out?"
The breakfast table was quiet except for the occasional, pass the dumplings talk. Iroh sat at the head of the table, looking far too pleased with himself. Mako, and Asami were to his left, Korra and Petra to his right. "Ah it looks as if we're nearly there." Iroh said glancing towards the window where the walls of Ba Sing Se were coming into view. The tributes seemed unmoved except for Petra who got up and walked towards the window. The train rumbled a little as it went through the tunnel in the walled city. Petra waved at the people that stood along the track.
"Looks like somebody's got the right idea." Iroh smiled swirling the drink in his hand.
The compartment door opened to reveal Hiroshi Sato, who so far had been absent for the trip. "Up, up, up it's going to be a big, big, big day." He said continuing his evil Santa Claus routine. "When we reach the platform you will be separated into groups based upon your element for the tribute parade. But don't worry, the four of your will be sharing the same apartment for the remainder of your time here." He took a place at the other head of the table and buttered a slice of toast.
"Wonderful." Mako muttered sarcastically under his breath and Asami sent him a death glare. As much as it would make her happy, now was not the time to make enemies.
Breakfast commenced without much incident and soon the tributes along with their chaperones emerged in Ba Sing Se. Korra had heard lengthy descriptions of the city from Tenzin and she guessed she could see why Tenzin loved it there so much. It was one of the few places left that held the imperial feel of the once great Earth Kingdom.
The train stopped and Korra as ushered to stand by another group of about 5 water benders. Some were about her age, one, a small thin boy looked like he could be as young at 11. It made her sick to think that Jinora could have been chosen instead of her.
A short young lady dressed in fine earth bender robes emerged from the crowd. She stood in front of the water benders, put her hands together and took a bow. "Hello, my name is Joo-dee I will be your guide around the wonderful city of Ba Sing Se." she said with a smile. "Now if you will follow me I will take you to Haru who will be getting you ready for tonight's opening ceremony." She turned and walked away, not concerned if her tributes were following her. Korra contemplated running away but decided that it was better to follow her than take her chances alone a strange city.
Joo-dee chattered along about the history of the architecture that made up the train station but Korra found it hard to concentrate on her words with all the noise and action going around with the heightened scenes she seemed to have acquired. There were people with newspapers yelling "Extra, Extra read all about it! Game Keeper Xin Fu promises this to be the best games yet!" Scalpers, promising prime seats for the night's ceremony. Others urge people passing by to place their bets on the game's outcome.
"It's as if they don't understand that this whole thing is real." Korra said to no one in particular. The boy walking next to her grunted in agreement. Joo-dee led them through a door and down a flight of stairs. They walked in silence through a dark corridor lit by a collection of flickering torches for what seemed like forever but was only a few minutes. Soon they were back up another flight of stairs and through another door.
"We just traveled through an ancient secret passage from the train station to the palace. Down this hall you will find a room with your name on it, go ahead and go inside. Haru will be with you soon." Joo-dee took another bow and left down the hall.
It didn't take long for Korra the room with her name on a gold plaque attached to a large stone door. Korra knew from Tenzin that all the doors in the palace used to be opened by earth bending, but with the technical advances that have come with the end of bending Korra only needed to press a button where a door knob would be on a regular door and it slid open. Inside the room were already 3 people busying themselves putting things on the large make-up table. A steaming tub was in the corner.
"Welcome to Ba Sing Se, you must be Korra. I'm Cho. It's nice to meet you." Korra did her best to seem friendly, after all these people were just doing their jobs and weren't the ones sending her to her death. She shook the girl's hand, her too big green eyes; twig-like figure and white hair with green sparkly streaks in it made her look more like a spirit than a girl. "Please make yourself comfortable in the tub. It is filled with the best minerals our Earth has to offer. My assistant Yumi and I will help you clean yourself."
Korra insisted that she didn't need help getting clean but when she sunk into the warm sweet smelling water she was glad to let her body relax and her eyes droop as Cho and Yumi went to work cleaning her finger nails and buffing her feet. She must have dozed off but when she came to Cho and Yumi were chattering away. "What did you say?" Korra asked.
"Oh, we were just talking about this year's tributes." Yumi dismissed her beauty was just as ethereal as Cho's only her signature color seemed to be purple.
"I think it's odd that fire bending boy volunteered from your city. The Earth bender seemed more than capable of participating himself." Cho went on.
"Mako is just trying to protect what's left of his family. I think it's noble." Korra didn't know why she felt a need to defend Mako to these two silly girls. Sure he seemed like a good person, but it wasn't as if they were friends.
"Noble Maybe," Yumi commented. "I just hope he's as good looking in person as he is in the posters."
"What is it about firebender's? They're all so hot." Cho said dreamily.
"It's all the fire inside of them." Yumi giggled. Korra was once against struck about how these people didn't seem to realize that these people they were gossiping about will be dead by the end of the month. Then again Korra didn't really think about that fact either until she was caught I the middle of it.
"Ok, I think you're about as clean as we can get you." Cho helped her out of the bath and got her into a soft warm robe. The next few hours were a blur of hair pulling, make-up applying, and more gossip from Korra's helpers. Whenever Korra tried to see what they were doing to her in the mirror she was immediately pulled back and told not to peak. When the girls were finally done they turned her around and Korra's mouth dropped.
Her normally limp wavy hair was put in a up do with pieces of dark curls left out to frame her face. Her pale blue eyes looked like blue flame behind coal eye shadow, highlighted in the right spot to make them pop. Her bronze skin was buffed until it looked like she'd never had a blemish in her life. It was like looking at a different person. Maybe not a different person, just someone with Korra's body that wasn't her.
"I think she likes it." Yumi smiled.
"Let's hope Haru agrees" Cho smiled. "Good luck Korra, we'll see you again before the interviews." The girls left the room in a flurry of girlish laughter between best friends.
Korra took the rare alone time to at least attempt bending. She walked over to the tub and waved her hand over the water. She knew she should at least feel something she closed her eyes and focused on what she though Tenzin meant by the energy of the element. Taking deep breaths and focused on not the water but the spirit of the water, coaxing, pleading it to move. She felt like she was getting somewhere then the scrape of stone against stone broke her concentration.
Haru was not like she was expecting. He was a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, his appearance looked subdued compared to the girls. He had long dark hair the looked as if he'd never cut it partially put up with an emerald scarf. His dark greened eyes were coal-lined. His mustache was styled like that of an old guru but the mirth in his eyes erased any thought of him being a wise old master. A garment bag was dangling on his finger lazily "They did better than I expected." Haru walked around her in a circle, not bothering to introduce himself. He handed the garment bag to Korra. "Put this on." Korra took it, he turned around and covered his eyes. "Don't worry I won't look. Let me know when we're done so I can make sure it fits right."
She placed the bag on the stone make-up table and unzipped it. The design of the dress was simple enough, not being an expert in fashion it looked like a dress to Korra. The fabric was a blue and white pattern that swirled like water when the angle of light moved. Korra half expected the fabric to be wet but when she put the dress on she discovered it felt like any other clothes Korra had worn. "I'm ready." Korra said.
"Oh I'm a genius." Haru clapped his hands together and checked to make sure it fit Korra like a glove. It did. Seeing the whole ensemble in a mirror, Korra looked like a water spirit the dress shimmering around her, fitting her in all the right places. The skirt bunched up right on her hip and was fashioned with the ancient symbol for water. "Come, Come we haven't got all day time to join the rest of your little crew." He turned and left the room. Korra dutifully followed tripping on the silver heals Haru made her wear.
She saw the rest of the tributes from republic city grouped together all dressed in various costumes. She tripped and bumped into Mako's back. "Sorry." She mumbled blushing slightly. "Uh, it's ok." Make said steadying her. "You look…" He took a double take. "Nice." Korra's blush became deeper. Normally she wasn't the type to get flustered by boys. Yet, the combination of the conversations her stylists had, the fact he wore the dress of a Fire Nation emperor was enough to get even the most level headed girl a little flustered.
"See, why couldn't have I worn something like that?" Asami asked looked nice herself in the traditional outfit of an Earthbender.
"I don't know Asami, you can still get a fire going in me." Petra winked at her.
Asami let out a groan of disgust. "Try something like that again and I will make sure you learn every implication of the phrase 'block head'." Petra took a step back.
"Now, now, save that aggression for the arena." Came Iroh's voice from down the hall. "I'm sure you're hungry so let's get some lunch." They followed Iroh to a dining room with a class wall looking out at the city. The tributes took their seats around the table Petra sitting as far away from Asami as he could get. As the meal commenced Korra felt like an animal in a zoo with people on the street stopping to watch them as they walked past. Iroh and Hiroshi seemed to be the only ones interested in conversing although Asami and Mako seemed to have silent communication down to an art.
Korra listened to Iroh and Hiroshi's idle chatter and was disgusted at the way that Iroh was able to talk so casually about the games, when he himself had been a tribute. Then there was Hiroshi, his own daughter getting ready to fight for her life and he can't even be bothered at acknowledge her. Korra stood up from the table. "I'm done." She said indignantly. Not even caring anymore how rude she was being. Why should she care? These people obviously didn't care about her.
"Alright." Hiroshi said, not seemed to be startled by her minor outburst. "The door behind be will take you to our apartment and your room is the second door on the right. Relax in either place until it's time to go to the ceremony.
Korra left the room without a word. She sat on a couch in the center of the room and fiddled with a radio on the coffee table before giving up, resigning to curl up in a ball. Her dress was being hopelessly wrinkled and she didn't care. Whoever decided to have her get all dressed up this early obviously wasn't the smartest person in the world. Make came in the room next and sat down next to her, Korra didn't even bother looking up.
"Am I invited to the pity party?" Make asked trying to meet her eyes.
Korra sighed. "Go ahead, the party favors aren't that great." Mako was silent for a little while.
"So have you achieved your goal?"
"What goal?"
"Pissing off every person that might be on your side, I hope you realize you need these people to get you sponsors."
"What do sponsors matter? I'm going to die anyways."
"Hey." The seriousness in his voice causes her to look up. "You're not going to win with that attitude."
"Why would you want me to win?"
"It's just… I." He started again. "Look, I hope it's doesn't come down to you against me, but if it does I want you to put up a real fight. I don't want to win just because you gave up. Can we have a deal?"
"Yeah, ok." Korra fell silent. "Mako?"
"Yeah?"
"I hope it's not you against me either."
Tenzin raced around his room in the early morning, shoving clothes and other necessities in a bag. "I don't see how this is going to help Tenzin." Pema said sitting on the bed. "They're not going to let her go. If anything it'll just make things worse for her out there."
"I do nothing and she dies, if I do something and there's even a small amount of hope that she lives I'm going to try."
"And you think that talking to the game makers are going to help? They just want a good show Tenzin. They don't care about anything else than the money they can make. We both know what will happen if that information gets into the wrong hands."
"Xin Fu's family and I have a long history he will help us."
"Tenzin equalists have been wanting to end the cycle for generations. If they push Korra into The Avatar State while she's in the arena the equalists will make sure that she dies. She won't reincarnate." Tenzin froze for a second before folding a tunic. "I care about Korra as much as I do our children but you and I both know that we can't risk the loss of The Avatar forever. If Korra dies we'll find the next one and train him or her."
"We've been waiting too long for The Avatar if I possibly save Korra I have to try." He gave his wife a kiss. "I'm going to be late. I have to talk to Xin Fu before they decide on the score." Pema sighed. "Tell the children I'll be home tomorrow night."
"I really hope you know what you're doing Tenzin."
"I always know what I'm doing, that's why you married me." He left the room to prepare Oogi for the long trip ahead.
So there was chapter 2, for those who are worried, Bolin will be in the next chapter.
