A/N: This chapter did not want to get written! But, at least it is done now, even though it is short and rather sucky in my opinion. I just needed it as a transition chapter for what comes next. That and I get super lazy during vacation. Not to mention my minor depression and break down at the end of Merlin season 5 (so sad TToTT). Sorry. -_- Anyway, please review and I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: One day! One day I will own all of these lovely things like Avatar and Game of Thrones and Merlin and the list goes on and on. But that day is not today so please do not sue as I do not make any profit off of my thievery of ideas.
Previously on Events Unexpected…
"What is the course you wish to take, Your Highness?" Izuru inquired. Her voice was silky, soothing but not enough to let the man's emotions die down. She needed his irrationality now more than ever.
King Daoguang rose from his stiff, over-decorated chair and moved down the steps to stand before her.
"I would like to open up channels of commerce between this Fire Lord Kaji. Make it out to be our condolences for her loss and the loss of the Fire Nation. Within it, send an encrypted message inquiring into any knowledge she might lend us as to who perpetrated this crime. If it is indeed found that Satren is to be blamed, then I will have compensation or… well, let us hope the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe is in a mood for repentance."
"M-miss Kain," Fuwa stammered. "I was not expecting you. You will be pleased to know that business is going well-"
"I could care less," Izuru waved him off. "The Dragon wants the wares to become a public commodity. The King still refuses to try it, but his resolve will be broken eventually. All I need is a few more loads, to appease the half of the court and advisors that have already become hooked, and then some more for the rest. As soon as we have Daoguang under our control, it will be easy to make the drug mainstream. That is all. I expect to have the appointed amount distributed to these men by the end of the week."
"Yes, that Kaji girl. She really is a wonder. Oh how I wish I could acquire her face," Koh rubbed his pincers together in a show of delight. The spiked tail curled back in on itself and then smacked into the ground with a resounding slap. "If I help you, what do I get in return?"
Koh laughed. The sound was akin to the grating of nails against a chalkboard. "How about we play a game? A wager really. I will tell you how to find the firebender, but you have to come back here to me when I call upon you. Then, I will tell you the terms of the bet. Be careful of that girl. I may be the master of faces, but she is not very far behind. What you may think you see may be a mirage created for you by her ploys."
Kaji stood with her back to the setting sun. The castle was quiet in the section she had come to find herself in on one of her evening walks through the grounds. It had been a long time since she had had time to herself, what with the coronation and then the necessary accommodations that came with having a new monarch. It was a rather perfect mess. The clamor of dishes from the far away kitchens indicated that dinner would soon be put upon the table. Kaji's breath let out in a slow sigh, her shoulder blades bunching together as she leaned against the banister on the terrace. The garden behind her back was no doubt being covered in shadows from the adjacent building, leaving the tired turtle ducks to swim into their home at the center of the pond. She did not understand the trend of keeping the infernal things around in every single pool of water on the grounds. If anything, the bread wasted upon them would have fed a whole regiment for a month.
Putting such meandering thoughts aside, Kaji moved away from her relaxed position. It would be the final day of the month of mourning and, as such, it would be the largest feast of all. She would finally be heralded as the new power over the land, not to mention that every slimy, money-grubbing merchant and power-hungry noble would be kissing her feet for recognition. Her eyes narrowed at the prospect. She understood the importance of keeping such vile creatures appeased, but were it up to her she would burn them all to a crisp. Perhaps she could indulge in her pyromaniac tendencies if one were to step out of line. That would be fun indeed.
Her robes swished against the walkways. The wood was still warm from the last remaining vestiges of solar heat, taking on a sort of lackluster mahogany as the braziers began to light with her passing. The blue flames never seemed to stay long after her influence had left them. Perhaps she would invest in the kerosene lamps which kept the fire going at the higher temperatures necessary to feed her cerulean fire. Blue was such a nice color. Red, black and gold were comparable, but there was something about blue. Kaji grinned to herself as she began to think of something else that was blue. Blue eyes, blue clothing, both so perfectly contrasting the darker skin and brown hair that comprised Ko-.
"My Lord," the servant before the doors bowed at the waist before opening the massive wall of wood. Kaji pulled herself together, hating to think of the stupid dreamy face she must have had on when the peasant had addressed her.
Within the dining room was a table that would easily have fit at least thirty people. All seats were filled with dignitaries, wealthy Fire Nationals, and an assortment of decorated foreigners with amiable business interests. The main courses had yet to be served, each plate of silver and gold glistening in the light spilling from the luminous chandeliers hanging from the ceiling far above their heads. Kaji cordially sat in the seat at the head of the table, pulled out for her by one of the many attendants. Next to her, by a secretive request, was her contact in the Earth Kingdom. Her mood was lightening at the prospect of good news, the smug smile on the lips of the wiry man in the fine Earth Kingdom silks doing wonders in alleviating the butterflies within her stomach that just refused to leave. Izuru Kain had sent word nigh a week ago, Kaji having received it a few days prior, that King Daoguang was willing to talk alliances with her. His mistrust of the Northern Water Tribe was palpable within the scrawled characters on the piece of parchment. The only thing she wished for now was a more easily influenced king upon the throne, something she dearly wished her 'friend' sitting beside her could provide.
"How is the welfare of dear King Daoguang these days?" Kaji nonchalantly plopped a grape into her mouth from one of the appetizer trays closest to her. The fruit was delectable, with a faint tanginess to go well with the sugary nectar sliding down her throat.
"He is taking well to the product. I was informed that he partook in a small amount at one of the evenings at a nobleman's house. It had a small effect on him as his system did not take much, but you and I both know how a small amount soon… intensifies," the man's voice was spoken in the hushed tone of a whisper, easily lost to the others as they engrossed themselves into the appearing entrées and their own conversations.
"Quite. The estimation of how long that will take is what exactly?" Kaji inquired. Her eyes flickered around the faces surrounding her, ensuring that no one became privy to their discussion.
"Not much more. It will be soon enough when our little bee will have taken control of the government."
"That is good to hear," Kaji's eyes focused back on the scene unfolding before her, immersing herself into the drawl flatteries and acknowledgements that were meant to warm her to the agendas of those spouting them.
Izuru moved along the halls of her home. It had not taken much to get the King addicted to the elated effects of the strong opium that she had procured from Kaji. With most of the generals and at least half of the population of the lower rings addicted as well, she had virtually no opposition. She would still remain cautious against prospective rabble-rousers, but then again, she had but to slip some of the morphine-filled drug into the systems of any who would move against her and they would become as placid as the poppy where it came from.
Of course, it would not do to have the greatest military minds of the Earth Kingdom muddled by the effects of the opium. Small doses in regular amounts would ensure that they were at the highest analytical thought point once they were within a meeting. And, Izuru credited herself a bit in a brief narcissistic moment, she was not a novice when it came to planning for war. It would be soon in coming too. The supplies were being amassed, the soldiers fitted in their exercises, and the people were even at this early stage being fed propaganda to transition them smoothly into the taxes they would be paying. All that was left was to 'regretfully' inform the King that Chief Satren's response to the inquiry, into his involvement with the terrorists who attacked Republic City, had never been received. The mood swings caused by a longer period of time without the necessary dosage would have left the man a puppet to her instruments of persuasion.
Korra had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered doing was sitting at the top of the grassy cliff that led down to the beach where she, Kaji, and Bolin had come to enjoy a free day. That time seemed to have been a lifetime ago even though it was closer to a few months. Tenzin had relieved her from the rest of her work for the evening. It was not that she had that much to do anyway. The treaties and such were all written up by those more adept at that sort of thing. She simply was required to read them, memorize the terms to keep either party from breaking them, and then sign her name if she found it acceptable. It was really the first bit that always stumped her. The boredom induced by having to comprehend all of the political jargon and discard it in order to get to the important bits of the documents was tiring. Meditation always helped quiet her mind from such things. It had been a long day.
Her eyes returned to assessing the immediate environment surrounding her, a dynamic distinction between the arid desert and her small alcove on Air Temple Island. The ground around her was so parched that massive cracks ran in spidery tendrils as far as the hazy horizon which was a sickly mixture of yellow and blue from the sands picked up by the air. The wind was dry; no trace of water touched Korra's lips and eyes, leaving her to run her tongue over her skin and blink to retain moisture. Both actions were only temporary reliefs. Other than the small granules of fine rock particles shifting under her feet and about her frame, there was no movement to be discerned. That, of course, did not mean that there was no life here. It was obviously some part of the Spirit World that Korra had unwittingly stumbled into whilst trying to center her thoughts. It was strange, however, that she had shown such a lack in control to have been swept into some middle-of-nowhere portion of the spectral realm.
Korra turned her head to peruse the landscape, creating a three hundred and sixty degree view. On the third time around, her pupils dilated to take in a shape that had not been there before. It was not far, or perhaps it was big and thus stood out as the sole occupant of the barren earth. Korra's eyes tried to train on it, seeking some kind of identification as to what the hell it was, but each time she seemed to focus, her eyesight blurred and it returned to an image just off of her periphery. Korra knew it was dangerous, especially when tall, dark things suddenly appeared where seconds before there had been nothing, but her curiosity and the fact that she had no inkling as to where she was drove her to start a steady pace in the direction of the thing.
A few yards away and Korra began to make out that it was most definitely not a tower or structure built by hand. In fact, the closer she drew to it, the more it began to reveal its true nature as a rather old, rather beaten and burned, old tree. The trunk was massive, thick enough to have at least ten people stand in a circle with arms outstretched and barely create a closed ring around it. The bark looked as though it were charcoal, fragile and shriveled in its ghastly black coloration. Korra's hand was close enough to touch it, her fingers not even two inches from it. She could have reached with a slight extension of her forearm, yet something stopped her. It was seemingly like her fingers felt a heat coming from it and, if she were to lay a hand on it, she would be scalded.
Korra moved her hand back to her side and began to circle her only companion in the vast wasteland. She did not want to say it was a fellow living thing, for she was unsure as to whether the tree was still alive or not and assuming either way seemed to be a mistake. Her eyes swept over each gnarled root and fraying branch; the crown reached up into the pale blue sky and fanned out to stretch far beyond Korra's shadow. She almost jumped at having realized that the darker patch of earth which had suddenly come into being was due to her positioning relative to whatever light source was illuminating the place. She hadn't had a shadow before and neither had the tree. The peculiarity was not lost on her and Korra mentally and physically readied herself for any sort of trap that might be sprung on her.
As though clockwork, on her third pass of the spot where she had come to stand before the blackened wood, Korra stood facing a change in its appearance. Instead of a solid wall barring her entry with its dangerous aura, there was a hollow pathway, just large enough for her to walk through if she kept her head down, leading into the depths within. Hesitantly, Korra inched into the small archway. The heart of the tree lay ahead, shrouded in darkness that was impenetrable even with Korra's fist on fire. Her eyes travelled to the flames, so pale and weak that they looked like mere shimmers, deflections of light playing around her dark fingertips and palm. Still, there was something about holding an element, even if it was only a mirage, which set her slightly more at ease.
The soft skins that made up her shoes allowed for stealthier movement, especially at the pace that she was going. Korra made certain that even the small shuffling of fabric against earth was nigh undistinguishable. A soft dripping sound echoing from somewhere in front of her did well to help mask her presence as well.
A sliver of light caught Korra's attention. Her black pupils, almost fully dilated, began to recede and allow some of her signature blue to surface. It was a small beam, coming from a hole in the crown somewhere above. Every few seconds a small droplet of water would fall down and plop into a small pool that had formed within a portion of the tree that jutted out of the ground. The water had rotted the wood away to form a sort of oval bowl. Korra glanced around her to make sure she was alone. Even though the faint ray filtering through the cobalt air brought a swell of courage to her heart, Korra knew that it also hid what lay behind it from view. And behind it, she knew, lay something in wait. Something old; something vile; something… familiar.
"Ah, young Avatar," a spindly voice reached her ears from beyond. She knew its sound, had prayed to never have to hear it again. "It seems we meet again. I do hope I was not interrupting anything… important."
"Koh," Korra breathed. She instinctively pulled a cover of indifference over her face to hide how frightened she had become. Her fingers and toes felt like they were cased in ice and her spine could not stop the tremors that ran through it. Her mind was moving in a blur, cursing her for not simply attempting to contact Aang or the others and have them transport her out of there. There was no time for that now; she was there and, more importantly, he was too.
"I told you that I would summon you one day," Koh's giant body slid around behind his shield of light. Korra tried not to think about his grotesque, insect sections moving over the bark and stone. It would do her no good to let the fear show; perhaps it was a blessing that she could not see him at the moment. Picture him covered in daisies or something Korra, she tried to think to keep the dread from seeping further into her bones.
"I have decided on my little game," the spirit continued, appearing to all the world as if he did not feel her fear, did not taste her sweat in the air that lacked all other forms of moisture. "Pay close attention to it; I do not like to repeat myself."
Korra nodded shakily, her lips trembling and chapped. She wanted to run her tongue over them so badly but she forced the urge away. Even the twitch of one muscle would condemn her here.
"The new Fire Lord, the girl called Kaji, has set certain events in motion that could bring about an imbalance to the world that has not been seen since the Hundred Year War. As it was then and numerous times past, it will fall upon you as Avatar to keep the balance and stop her," Koh's voice pierced Korra's weakening mental shell. Her fortitude was dying with each word, her insides boiling with a fiery hatred of the thing speaking before her. She knew Kaji. The girl was sometimes a bit impulsive and her temper was nothing to trifle with, but there had to be a mistake. There was no way that she would betray Korra like that. She wouldn't. She loves me, Korra fingered the small betrothal necklace that had been a token to prove just that.
"You're wrong," she voiced out, platonic as was necessary. Her vehemence, at least she hoped, was expressed in the certainty with which she said the words.
"Be silent child," Koh's voice rose into an angry growl, no doubt from having changed his face into a more masculine one. Reverting to the sickly one from before, he continued as though uninterrupted, "Once her traitorous intent becomes clear, you will have to choose between the two. That is where your promise to me comes in."
Within the pool, Korra thought she caught a small flicker of motion. Her face moved to get a better look, but the stillness and uniformity in color of the water, broken only by the occasional ripple, remained stagnant. It was only after she raised her head and peered at it from the corner of her eyes that she saw the faint flashes of scenery again. There was something akin to ice, or definitely a pale landscape. A small flicker of green and gold could be made out before everything morphed into a pillar of red piercing through both other colors. The flag of the Fire Nation waved high as screams of injured and dying men rang out into Korra's ears. It was an uphill battle to keep herself from screaming for it to stop. The only thing that saved her was Koh's slippery words reaching her again.
"Choose the girl over your duty and the world will fall into chaos. The Earth Kingdom already prepares to set sail for the shores of the Northern Water Tribe, supplied by Fire Nation war machines and gold from the coffers of the Earth King and Fire Lord both. If you do nothing, the world will see you as a failure and it will be plunged into disaster. As a resident of the Spirit Realm, I would prefer to see this not happen, but entropy and I have always gotten along splendidly."
Korra opened her mouth to interject but thought better of it when a hiss echoed throughout the small hollow.
"Choose your duty as Avatar and you will be hailed as a hero," the water changed again, showing the four sigils of the nations in harmony with each other. There was another scream, but it died down fairly quickly and it was much quieter than the others had been. Still, Korra much preferred the others to that one; it held so much fear and pain that she could feel her knees weaken. "The war will most probably be abandoned as too costly if you were to assert your powers and cripple the armed forces. Should that happen, I want you to bring the girl to me. You must swear to it, that Kaji will be mine as soon as her armies fall. That is my price Avatar Korra."
Korra's eyes widened; she could not keep them from doing so. For a fraction of a second even the fear of having her face stolen was nothing compared to the horror of hearing Koh's ultimatum. She knew that she would have no choice, really, if it came to that. Kaji was her love, her life, but her life would be forfeit without hesitation if it could save the lives of many others. A war must be prevented at all costs. Then she realized her mistake; the slight twinge of the corners of her mouth, her eyebrows shooting higher on her forehead, her eyes glistening with worry. She knew that Koh must have seen it too. Her eyes clamped shut as she cringed at the thought of what would inevitably happen next. Her hands bunched into fist and her teeth became bared with no further restraint. It was only after a few moments of no change, no feeling of being overtaken, that she peeked out from under her eyelashes. Cruel laughter came from Koh's hiding place. She could hear the sharp tips of his multiple legs clacking against the ground in mirth.
"I would not take you now Avatar," he finally stated after getting over his amusement at her expense. "I have too much to gain from keeping you alive. Do not take my kindness for granted and do not forget our deal. When the time comes, you must bring the firebender to me… or watch your world fall to ruin."
"What if there is no war? What if I prevent it before it even starts?" Korra frantically tried to think of some kind of loophole. Both options were unacceptable and both options would surely be the death of her.
"That is impossible little Avatar," Koh's face came into view as he slid partially into the light. The Noh mask was looking at her peevishly, like she had said something ridiculously stupid and narrow-minded. "The war has already begun."
His face and laugh faded as wakefulness hit Korra like a bucket of cold water. Her hands raked the ground as she got to her feet and ran away from the outcropping of the island cliffs. Tenzin would have answers, Tenzin would know if Koh was lying. And if Tenzin did not know, then Korra was hell bent on finding out the truth. If Kaji really was starting a war… the pure emptiness hit her with such force that a ton of bricks would feel feather light. Kaji had been her support, her rock, when she had felt alone and unwanted. Kaji had been the one who had been there, pushing Korra to find love for herself and realize that she was not second best, not some kind of scrap to be thrown aside for something better. Kaji had been… Kaji had been real and there for Korra when she needed her. The betrayal stung every fiber in Korra's being until the despair turned to rage. The questions became rampant in her head. Had Kaji been lying? Had she been manipulating Korra from the start, wanting her to put her faith in the firebender so that she would not suspect anything until it was too late? Had it all been a lie? Everything they shared, everything she felt, had it been a charade? And yet, it did not feel like that. Korra knew that she was more than a little naïve when it came to matters of romance, but Kaji's touch, her emotions, they felt so authentic. Korra could not fathom being able to lie about something like that. Her resolve strengthened, she decided on her course of action. Koh was not to be trusted, even if his perception had not been wrong. The only one who could dispel all of Korra's conflicting thoughts was Kaji herself. So to Kaji she would go.
Korra's hand nearly yanked the door from its hinges, her eyes moving frantically from side to side in the hopes of finding the man she was looking for. Pema's worried face was the first thing Korra took in. Next was the fact that Tenzin had just entered the room from the opposite door, the one that led to the front of the building and the docks to Republic City. Third was his face; the look of concern and stress mixing into a mirror image of her own, minus the anger bit.
"Korra," his tone was a somber one, filled with the crushing responsibility he held and the fact that he would soon have to burden her with it as well. What he couldn't have known was that she already knew. The minute she had seen his face, she knew that Koh had not been lying. The next words that came from the master airbender were only the verbal confirmation she needed to ascertain that this was real. "The Earth Kingdom has declared war on the Northern Water Tribe under the basis that it has committed an act of terrorism against its citizens. The Fire Nation has voiced its support, though Fire Lord Kaji is keeping all of her troops from joining in on the battle."
"I'm going to the Fire Nation," Korra stated flatly, her face a mask of determination. "Now; today; whenever you can get me a ship. I need to know what is going on from Kaji."
Tenzin's expression told Korra that he was going to protest. She knew it in the way that he curved his lips in a frown and his forehead bunched together. Beating him to the punch she shook her head and glared straight into his clear eyes. She would not back down this time. She knew she had to go.
"Very well. I believe I can have something arranged in a few hours. Ready yourself and wait for me at the docks when you are done," Tenzin finally acquiesced.
Korra did not even pay attention to what she was doing, leaving it all to muscle memory as she thought ahead to her meeting with the new Fire Lord. With Kaji. What are you doing? Are you really trying to start another war? Why? Korra rushed out to find the ship waiting for her. It was a supply freighter, easily camouflaging her purpose and presence. Without even a look back, Korra boarded the vessel. While she was lost within her confusion and unease, her fingers subconsciously began to fiddle with the intricate little circle attached to her neck. Following the sun as it moved to the West, the ship progressed to her destination and her confrontation.
P.S. Thoughts, wishes, complaints... they are all welcome as long as I get those wonderful reviews. To all of you who have, you are amazing people and deserve to live long fruitful lives full of joy and magic! Yes! I tried to base most of Kaji's ploys for world domination on historical events, but I am a science oriented person so the Opium Wars are not very familiar to me. To any history buffs, I apologize profusely. REVIEW! Makes life worth living.