After that night where Youko told Korra her whole story, the next day arrived.
The Avatar and the queen of Kei stood on the outskirts of the village, patiently waiting for Keiki to arrive to take them to the royal palace.
"How long do we have to be waiting?" asked Korra.
"Not long. In fact, here it is." said Youko pointing to the sky.
Korra turned her gaze to the point she was pointing to and was shocked at what she was seeing, for, flying through the sky as if running on land, a creature could be seen that looked just like the one she saw in her dream.
Even though she had seen it before in her dream, she had to admit that it was a beautiful and graceful creature.
The kirin continued to fly until he landed in front of them before a light engulfed him and when the light dissipated, a man with white skin and blond hair was revealed.
"I am here as you commanded, my queen." said Keiki bowing.
"Thank you, Keiki. Allow me to introduce you to my companion." said Youko extending a hand towards the Avatar.
"Greetings. I am Avatar Korra. It is an honor to meet you." said Korra bowing in respect.
"The honor is mine. However, I am unaware of that title of Avatar." said Keiki.
"I will explain on the way. Now we need you to take us to the palace." said Youko.
"As you wish, my queen." said Keiki before wrapping herself in light to transform back into kirin.
Once they were on his back, with Korra behind Youko, Keiki quickly took flight.
Although Korra had experienced flying, both in an airship and a flying bison, flying on the back of a kirin felt very different from those previous experiences.
As they flew along, she kept her eyes on the views of the ground below and the clouds around them.
A part of her wished her friends and girlfriend were there to experience the same thing she did.
"So, my queen, who really is Avatar Korra?" asked Keiki.
"She is a visitor from another world. A different one from Horai." said Youko.
"Really? You got here through a shoku?" asked Keiki.
"Yes, but there's another reason I'm in this world." said Korra.
"In the world she comes from, there are people with special abilities to control one of the four elements, but Korra is the only one who can manipulate them all. Hence her title of Avatar, which is given to a person after the death of the previous one." said Youko.
"I see. So what is the Avatar doing in this world if she is someone so important in her own?" asked Keiki.
"I happened to have a dream about a kirin. When I went to investigate it, I found out that kirin came from this world, so I decided to come here to find out what was going on." said Korra.
"You saw a kirin in a dream? It must be something serious if you've been through something like that." said Keiki.
"That's why we should go to the palace and deal with this youma thing. If someone as important as the Avatar was called to this world, it means the situation could be worse than we imagined." said Youko.
"Understood, my queen." said Keiki before increasing flight speed.
A couple of minutes later, the group spotted a mountain so high that it reached beyond the clouds and halfway up the mountain, Keiki began to ascend, much to Korra's surprise.
Her surprise was greatly increased when, as she broke through the sea of clouds, she saw what was at the top of the mountain.
Her mouth and eyes fell wide open as she saw a huge territory full of green meadows, buildings, roads, temples, etc.
When Keiki landed at the entrance of the main building, the two girls got off his back before the kirin returned to his human form.
It was then that Youko noticed her friend's surprised expression.
"Surprised?" asked Youko with a smile, as she saw the Avatar's expression funny.
"Are you kidding? This place is huge! You could fit at least the whole city of Ba Sing Se in here!" said Korra.
"Yeah, I was pretty surprised too when I found out I'd be living here." said Youko rubbing the back of her head.
"And don't you find it TOO much of a stretch to have all this to yourself?" asked Korra.
"Still, but I don't live here alone. There are also the servants and the ministers." said Youko.
Just at that moment, one of the servants came running to the scene.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" the servant shouted before catching up with them and breathing heavily to catch his breath. "You're back at last! The ministers wish to discuss some matters with you!"
"Can't they wait a little while? There are other matters I must attend to." said Youko.
"I'm afraid not, your majesty. They insist on dealing with this matter as soon as possible." said the servant.
Youko let out a sigh of defeat.
As important as it was to resolve the youmas issue, she couldn't let her responsibilities as queen of Kei pass her by.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go take care of some official business." said Youko to the Avatar.
"I understand. No worries." said Korra understanding that it was her duty as queen.
"Keiki, help her find her way around the palace while I am away." said Youko.
"As you command, my queen." said Keiki bowing slightly.
With a nod in agreement, Youko departed with the servant following her, leaving the Avatar and the kirin alone.
"What is it you wish to do now, Avatar Korra?" asked Keiki.
"Well, I had thought to explore the palace a bit." said Korra.
"In that case, allow me to lead her." said Keiki.
After a nod from the Avatar, Keiki set off with Korra at her side.
Korra hadn't been lying when she said the palace was huge, for they had been walking for quite a while and so far she had seen huge gardens, some with gazebos.
She was also able to take in views of what Keiki called the sea of clouds and Korra was impressed with the views resembling the real ocean.
She also passed by the many residences, as well as the ministers' offices.
All the while, Korra was comparing the palace to the island of the air temple, but, while that temple was a home for the air monks and their acolytes, that was a palace for the ruler, his ministers and his servants.
If her friends saw that place, they would be as amazed as she was.
"Keiki, can I ask you a question?" asked Korra.
"Go ahead." said Keiki.
"What made you choose Youko as queen? Not that I'm complaining about her, but weren't there more people who might have been more worthy to take the throne?" asked Korra.
"True, there were people who might have been suitable for the position, but Youko had something they didn't have. The ruler's aura." said Keiki.
"What is that?" asked Korra.
"It's something only true rulers possess. It doesn't matter their origin, occupation or title. One who possesses it, is worthy of becoming a ruler." said Keiki.
"However, that doesn't mean he can become a good ruler. Youko told me how cruel the king of Kou was to you and her." said Korra remembering what she told her about him.
"It is true that there are cases where the ruler goes out of his way. That is why, as kirins, it is our duty to guide our king on the right path for his sake and for the sake of the kingdom. In fact, there was a kirin who refused to elect a king." said Keiki.
"Really? Why?" asked Korra.
"He believed that governors were the cause of misfortunes and wars and that, if he elected a king, his kingdom would end in disgrace. However, in the end he met someone who proved to be the most suitable to occupy the throne and thanks to him, the kingdom of En became prosperous for 500 years." said Keiki.
"The kingdom of En?" asked Korra.
Ever since she had arrived on that world, she had heard things about the kingdom of En and its enormous prosperity because of its king.
If that man had managed to continue ruling for so very long without any problems, it meant that this must be the greatest king she had ever heard of.
"Forgive me for asking, but how do you choose the next Avatar in your world?" asked Keiki.
"Oh. Well, the truth is, no one knows. When the Avatar dies, Raava, the spirit that is part of the Avatar, is introduced into another person who is born at that very moment, which makes him or her the Avatar. Sages all over the world search for him and when they find him, they help him master the four elements so that he can fulfill his duty to protect the world." said Korra remembering what she learned from the previous Avatars.
"I see. It's not so different from the kirins electing their ruler." said Keiki.
"I guess you're right." said Korra.
Just as the two were about to turn a corner, a girl suddenly appeared and bumped into Korra.
"I'm sorry." said Korra.
"No, no. I should be sorry. I was a little distracted." said the girl before noticing Korra. "Huh? I haven't seen you around here before. Who are you?"
"She's Avatar Korra. She's come with the queen to discuss an important matter." said Keiki.
"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you, Miss Korra. My name is Suzu." said Suzu bowing slightly.
"You don't have to be so formal. Calling me Korra is enough." said Korra with a smile.
"It's okay. You don't mind if I walk you around a bit, do you?" asked Suzu.
"Not at all." said Korra accepting the girl's offer.
After that, the three of them proceeded to walk through the halls of the palace.
"If you don't mind me asking, are you from Horai or Kan?" asked Suzu.
"If you're wondering if I'm a kaikyaku, then yes, but due to circumstances unknown to me, I'm able to understand your language with no problem." said Korra.
"Really? Wow." said Suzu impressed.
"I assume you are a kaikyaku, right?" asked Korra.
"That's right. I came to this world after being swept away by a shoku. At first, I found it horrible to be in a world where no one could understand me nor I them, but then, I met a noblewoman who granted me the status of sennin, which allowed me to be able to understand the language of others." said Suzu.
"That's nice, isn't it?" asked Korra.
"I thought so at first." said Suzu.
"What do you mean?" asked Korra.
"In order for her to give me status, I had to become her maid and for 100 years, she was treating me cruelly." said Suzu.
Korra felt sorry for the girl who had ended up in a different world, only to end up as a maid to a cruel woman.
"What happened in the end?" asked Korra.
"Well, when she told me about the queen of Kei and how she had a similar experience to mine, I ran away and sought refuge with the queen of Sai. Thanks to her, she was able to stop being a servant to that noblewoman and I went on a trip to Kei to meet her queen. When I arrived, I ended up involved in the rebellion of Wa, which led me to meet her and now I am her maid of honor." said Suzu with a smile.
"I'm glad things went well for you in the end." said Korra with a smile.
"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get back to my chores." said Suzu.
"Sure." said Korra before Suzu took a separate path, leaving her alone with the human kirin.
Keiki continued to lead Korra around the palace grounds, showing her some of the rooms.
It was then that they came to a room filled with scrolls.
"This is where we keep the records of the entire kingdom, as well as its history." explained Keiki.
"Wow. There are a lot of them. Whoever works here must be very good." said Korra.
"Thank you."
Korra turned her head at the sound of someone new and saw a girl with navy blue hair and carrying a scroll.
"I make sure to do my best." said the girl.
"And you are?" asked Korra.
"Oh, of course. I am Shoukei, the royal scribe. May I know your name?" asked Shoukei.
"I am Avatar Korra, I have come with the queen of Kei to discuss an important matter." said Korra.
"I see." said Shoukei as he put the scroll back in place.
"It looks like you have a lot of work. You're amazing if you're in charge of all this." said Korra.
"Thanks, but I wasn't always like this." said Shoukei.
"Oh, no?" asked Korra.
"No. It may not look like it, but I used to be the princess of the kingdom of Hou." said Shoukei.
"How did a princess end up as a royal scribe?" asked Korra curiously.
The former princess's expression declined into sadness, something that worried the Avatar.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." said Korra.
"No. It's okay. It's okay." said Shoukei before proceeding to tell her life story. "My father was the previous king of Hou and wanted to create a kingdom free of corruption and crime, but over time, he ended up creating very harsh laws that resulted in the deaths of almost 600000 people, whether it was for petty crimes or trivial problems."
Korra couldn't help but let out a huge gasp at hearing that.
She had heard of Ozai's cruelty, and she had seen queen Hou-Ting's cruelty, but that cruelty was minuscule compared to this man who would execute anyone for anything.
However, she remembered that Shoukei said his intention was to create a peaceful kingdom, but his methods weren't correct.
That reminded him of Zaheer, who planned to create a world of freedom for all, but to do so he was going to kill his leaders and when he did so with the queen of Earth, it only brought more chaos than freedom, which made him realize the error of his ways.
"In the end, Gekkei, the governor of Kei province, led a rebellion and killed my parents and Hourin, the kirin of Hou. I was present when that happened." said Shoukei.
Korra let out another gasp upon hearing that.
She supposed the king received his punishment for his cruelty, but she hadn't expected the former princess to witness such an event.
"He could have killed me too, but because I was unaware of my father's deeds, he removed me from the divine record, taking away my immortality and sent me to live among the peasants under a false name. I lived in disgrace because I had lost everything and it was then, three years later, that people found out who I was. They tried to execute me, blaming me for my father's crimes, but Gekkei saved me. After that, I decided to go to Kei to kill their queen." said Shoukei.
"What? Why would you want that?" asked Korra surprised to hear that.
"At that time, I was very envious of her. I, who was a princess, had ended up living among peasants while she, a taika, had ended up as queen. I thought that if I killed her, I could get my former life back." said Shoukei.
"What did you do then?" asked Korra.
"After I left Hou, I ended up in the kingdom of Kyou, where I ended up in the service of his queen who treated me cruelly. In the end, I stole some jewels from her and escaped to the kingdom of Ryuu, where I met a good friend who treated me kindly despite how I treated him at first." began Shoukei with a smile as he remembered a certain large, talking mouse. "When I arrived in the province of Wa, I joined the rebellion and gave up my hatred and desire to kill the queen of Kei. That's when I met her and after the rebellion ended, she named me her royal scribe and I've been happy ever since."
Korra smiled to see the princess who went through some terrible events find happiness and a home.
"I'm glad everything ended well for you." said Korra.
"Thank you. I owe it all to Youko." said Shoukei.
"You know? Your story reminded me of someone I know." said Korra.
"Really?" asked Shoukei receiving a nod from the Avatar.
"His name is Zuko and despite being the crown prince, his father hated him. He always told him that while his younger sister was born lucky, he was lucky to be born." said Korra.
"That's horrible." said Shoukei.
"Since they lived in wartime, during a meeting, Zuko objected to a plan to use soldiers as sacrifices. Because of this, he ended up facing his father in a duel. He tried to beg his forgiveness, but in the end, his own father branded him with a burn on his face and banishment." said Korra.
"Poor thing. What happened to him after that?" asked Shoukei.
"For three years, he was looking for a way to regain his honor and return home. He went through a lot, but in the end, he made it, but when he did, he realized that even though he had achieved what he set out to do, he wasn't really happy. So he joined the rebel army and overthrew his father, managing to seize the throne and end the war." said Korra recalling the story of Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.
"I see. I'm happy for him." said Shoukei with a smile. "Well, I must get back to my work. It was nice meeting you, Miss Korra." said Shoukei bowing slightly.
"Likewise. And please, Korra is fine." said Korra with a smile that the girl returned before returning to her work station, leaving the Avatar and the transformed kirin alone.
After guiding her through most of the palace, Keiki led Korra to her own room.
Needless to say, Korra was a bit surprised to see the size and style of the room which had reminded her of her own room she shared with Asami.
As she stood there, she decided to meditate a bit and try to gather her thoughts.
At first she didn't know why she dreamed of a kirin, but now, after everything she learned about that world, it seems that this kirin was some sort of message of help and that it was somehow related to the youma attacks that the kingdom had been suffering from.
Now that she has the help and support of the queen of Kei herself, things might get easier.
TOC-TOC
Suddenly, she had to stop her train of thought when she heard someone knocking at the door.
"Come in." said Korra before the door opened, allowing her to see that it was Keiki who knocked.
"Avatar Korra, the queen has sent me to inform you that she wishes to invite you to have tea with her." said Keiki.
"Oh, right." began Korra getting up from the floor. "Take me over there."
With a nod in agreement, Keiki proceeded to lead Korra around the palace grounds.
A few minutes passed and Keiki led Korra up some stairs that took her to a small mountain that towered over the palace.
At the top was a gazebo overlooking the sea of clouds and inside the gazebo was a table with Youko, Suzu and Shoukei seated around it.
"Oh, Korra. I see you accepted the invitation." said Youko.
"Well, an old friend told me that sometimes it's nice to sit down for tea." said Korra sitting down in a chair.
"Youko just told us that you are from another world." said Suzu.
"Can you really master the four elements?" asked Shoukei.
In response, Korra used waterbending to scoop the tea out of the teapot and into her cup.
"Does this answer your question?" asked Korra with a smile.
"Awesome! You're amazing!" said Suzu in awe.
"Thanks, but I wasn't always like this. I had to train a lot to get to where I am." said Korra before drinking some of her tea.
"Yes, Youko told us that you were able to overcome the conflicts in your world with the help of your friends. Do you mind talking about them?" asked Shoukei.
"I don't see why not. Well, for starters, there's Tenzin." said Korra.
"He's the one who taught you how to airbend, right?" asked Youko.
"That's right. Even though I already mastered the air, he was always by my side to support and advise me when I needed it most." said Korra.
"Sounds like Enho. It's thanks to him that I'm getting better as a queen." said Youko.
"I thought the same thing. Then there's Mako, a firebender, and his brother, Bolin, an earthbender. They used to be players of a sport called pro-bending, but now Mako is a policeman and Bolin is an assistant to the city president." said Korra.
"Pro-bending?" asked Youko.
"It's sport in which two teams consisting of a fire, water and earthbender compete against each other. Both teams attack each other with their respective elements, with the goal of pushing the other to the edge of the playing field." said Korra.
"Sounds like fun." said Suzu.
"It is. I assure you." said Korra before a sweet smile formed on her face. "And then, there's Asami, my girlfriend."
"Oh, wow. I didn't expect you to be one of those. No offense." said Youko hoping she hadn't offended her in some way.
"None taken." said Korra.
"What can you tell us about her?" asked Shoukei.
"Well, she's not a bender, but she makes up for it with her intelligence and martial art. Plus, she's a director of one of the most important companies in the world." said Korra.
"Wow. She sounds like a great woman." said Shoukei.
"How did you know you were in love with her?" asked Suzu.
"Youko, remember when I told you about Zaheer and the Red Lotus?" asked Korra.
"Yes, you said they aimed to eliminate the rulers so that everyone would be free." said Youko with a frown.
In her opinion, those people were crazy, for even if the world was left without its leaders, the people wouldn't be free, for that would unleash chaos and someone worse than the previous leader would eventually emerge.
Korra told her that Zaheer said he wanted humans to be free like animals, but even animals have a leader to follow.
"Well, not only did they plan to kill the leaders, but the Avatar as well. During our last battle, I was wounded very badly and had to be absent for a long time. Back then, Asami was just my friend, but she was the only person I wrote to." began Korra before a smile formed on her face. "During that time, I understood that she was someone very important to me and that feeling became something more. After we reunited and resolved a certain issue, we confessed and became a couple."
"Aw, how romantic." said Suzu with her hands clasped together.
"And she won't be worried about the fact that you've gone to another world by yourself?" asked Youko.
"Not at all. I told her about the dream I had, and she knows that, as Avatar, I must come if someone needs me. She trusts that I'll be able to resolve this matter and get back to her and I trust that too." said Korra.
"That shows that you love each other very much. I'm a little envious." said Shoukei.
The four girls shared a slight giggle at that.
For the rest of the day, the four girls were chatting with each other as they went around drinking tea together.
Korra had to admit that she enjoyed the time with them.
They may have each had a different story and a different life, but they got along the same way she and the other members of Team Avatar did.
Even though there was the matter of the youma attacks pending, it was these moments that made life, whether it be that of a queen or an Avatar, feel more enjoyable.