The forest was silent save for the occasional gust of wind that sent the bare tree branches clinking against each other. Arael stepped carefully through the untouched snow, noticing a figure in front of her. Upon hearing the crunch of the snow under her feet, the figure turned, pale blue eyes fixing on her face.
"Noatak?" Arael asked in surprised confusion. His furrowed brows smoothed into a pleasant expression upon seeing her and a faint smile touched his lips.
"Hello, Arael," he greeted her.
"But you're-"
"Dead? Maybe in the physical world, but nobody dies for good. A part of me lives on in all of those I have touched. Especially you."
A small frown touched her lips at his words, but she remained silent, unsure of what to say to him. After all, she had been the one to murder him. She wasn't going to apologize for her actions. She had done it to protect Mako and she would do it again in a heartbeat.
"Why are you so quiet? Come closer. You know I would never hurt you, Arael." She drew nearer to him, although her steps were hesitant and reluctant. He took a few steps toward her to close the distance between them and he reached out, cupping her chin and tilting her head as he gazed approvingly at her, like she was a prized possession he was admiring. "You look different; more grown up," he commented, his gaze returning to hers. The smile had never left his lips. "Mature. Nothing like the scared child who first came to me. I suppose killing someone weighs on the conscience." She flinched at his words, pulling away from his touch. "What, you don't like that word? Kill? That's what you did, isn't it? You killed me. That's why I'm here, dearest Arael. We still have a mission to complete."
She scowled at him, taking a few steps back. "What are you talking about?"
"I didn't spend all of that time helping you fulfill your potential for nothing. I made you what you are today: the most powerful bloodbender in the world now that I'm gone. And a killer. I intend for you to continue my legacy, of course. It is not to be all for nothing. You can have everything you could possibly imagine now. Power, fame, Mako. The world is your stage and all of its inhabitants are your puppets. If you get rid of the Avatar, you will have it all at your fingertips. Killing Korra shouldn't be a problem now. You've passed the final test."
She shook her head, backing away from him. "I won't do it. You can't control me anymore," she said defiantly, although feelings of fear and doubt had begun to creep their way into her heart and despite her best efforts, her voice shook.
"You will do it. It's your destiny, Arael. Korra must die and you can do it. I know you can and I know you will."
"I'm done bloodbending. It's ruined my life." Her voice was small, lacking any confidence the statement should have held.
Noatak frowned, his handsome features twisting into pure rage. "You will do as I say!" he growled, lunging toward her.
Arael startled awake with a gasp, reacting quickly against her attacker. Iroh leaned over her, frozen in place and in obvious strain, his golden eyes showing the pain he was in. She realized she was forcing his arms behind him at an unnatural angle and her eyes widened. She dropped her arms releasing him from her hold. He collapsed on the ground beside her, groaning softly. "Damn it, Arael." Slowly, he pushed himself up onto his knees, looking over at her as his dark hair fell into his eyes, dripping wet. He was soaked, his clothes plastered to his skin and water still dripping off of him. She shivered as a cool breeze picked up and she pushed herself up into a sitting position, realizing she too was drenched. There were a handful of guards standing around them, all watching her uneasily. They were unsettled by the way she had reacted when she came to. Iroh waved them away before he fixed her with an angry glare.
"Why the hell did you do that?" he asked harshly.
"Why didn't you let me do it? It would have made things a lot easier for everyone," she retorted, returning his scowl.
"I'm not going to let you die under my watch. You're my ward."
"But you would gladly condemn me anyway."
He paused for a moment, his angry scowl falling into a look of defeat as he dropped his gaze. "It's my duty," he told her with a heavy sigh.
"You know me, Iroh. You know that I won't hurt anyone again," she pleaded, knowing it was her final chance to change his mind.
"You know me too and you know that I am bound by my honor," he said, fixing her with a stern gaze. He shook his head. "It's too late anyway. The guards have all seen."
Her shoulders fell in defeat and she shut her eyes, renewed feelings of hopelessness filling her. "You should have let me die," she whispered almost too quietly to hear. She felt cold metal slide around her wrists and a distinct clicking sound accompanied it. Her eyes flew open and she looked down to find herself bound in handcuffs.
"It's for your safety," Iroh told her earnestly, getting to his feet. "I'm going to go send the message. Just…stay here. Please."
He left her sitting there, unable to really move on her own anyway. She was cold in the evening air and she couldn't bend the water off of her without her arms. She stayed where she was as he had asked, staring down at her lap and her confined wrists. It wasn't too long before Iroh returned and helped her to her feet.
"I'm going to help you to your room. We'll keep you there until I get a response."
Arael sighed softly, looking away. "So I'm a prisoner again?"
"This is for your safety. If I didn't have to worry about you killing yourself, I wouldn't treat you any differently," he responded, sounding a little irritated.
She felt silent at that, unable to find fault in his logic. She couldn't say that she wouldn't make an attempt again. Her bending was too precious to her and it had been gone too long. If all they were going to do was take it away from her again, then she would rather be dead.
She was escorted to her room and the handcuffs were removed. She rubbed her wrists once the cold metal was taken away, looking up at the general. "I'm going to find out what's going on. I promise I won't let them hurt you," he told her. "Get some rest."
She nodded, watching as he left. She could only hope what he said was true. She knew Iroh would never intend for anything bad to happen to her, but he wouldn't be able to stop those who didn't want a bloodbender around, specifically Korra.
A few weeks passed. Those in Republic City were more concerned about a growing issue they were having with spirit vines rather than the revival of a bloodbender. Of course, they had protested against her renewed abilities and said that Arael should be executed. Iroh had told them that as long as she was in the Fire Nation, she had asylum and would remain under his protection indefinitely. Her father didn't like the idea of her remaining in the Fire Nation, but there was nowhere else she could go and still be guaranteed the safety she had under the general's jurisdiction.
She hadn't been the only person to experience the effects of the Harmonic Convergence. When Korra opened the spirit portals, cases of airbending began to pop up in previous nonbenders. The natural balance of the world had been restored and it seemed that Arael was meant to have her bending. That was what Iroh told her.
"Your turn, Arael. Unless you'd rather stay wherever you traveled off to."
Arael blinked a couple of times, returning to the real world. Fire Lord Zuko had been taking an extremely long turn in their Pai Sho game, and she had begun to dwell on the information they had gained in the past few weeks rather than watch and speculate what move he would make. She glanced down at the board, returning her gaze to the old man. "Sorry, I was just thinking," she said apologetically.
"You've been doing a lot of thinking since you received your bending back," he commented, watching her with a knowing look.
She nodded, sighing softly. "I just don't know how to feel. I'm more than happy that it's back, but now I feel like I'm waiting for Korra to return and take it away again."
"My grandson seems very adamant that that doesn't happen to you."
"Iroh can't protect me forever. It's very generous of him, but I feel imprisoned here. It's not the life I want."
"What's stopping you from leaving?" Zuko asked, sounding genuinely curious.
She paused at the question, lifting her gaze to his as she thought. Why did she stay? She certainly didn't have to. Maybe it was because she felt like she couldn't leave. There was nowhere else she could run. She shook her head, giving him a small smile. "It might be these games. It's my goal to beat you one day. Until then, I have to stick around."
He chuckled, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. "You're better than I was. When I was your age, I couldn't stand this game."
After he spoke, a guard came over, clearing his throat. "Excuse me, your highness. We just received an urgent message. Ming-Hua has escaped."
The good humor on the former fire lord's face fell and he rose to his feet quickly despite his age. "When?" he asked, his voice urgent.
"Yesterday."
Zuko made a noise of disbelief. "And it took this long to notify me?" He looked to Arael, motioning for her to follow him. "Come with me." Confused, she rose to her feet and followed the aging man as he quickly made his way to the farthest end of the palace. She didn't question him, worried by how concerned he had grown at the news. Whoever Ming-Hua was, it wasn't good.
When they reached the furthest corner of the palace, Zuko led her outside. Arael stopped in her tracks when she saw the beast waiting for them. A dragon?! She didn't know the creatures still existed! She had heard stories of the fire lord riding one, but she hadn't thought anything of them. The dragons had long since been extinct. Its red scales glinted in the afternoon sunlight and it fixed its fierce red eyes on her. Despite how terrifying it looked, there was a spark of intelligence hidden behind the red irises as it gazed at her.
Zuko mounted the massive creature's head, motioning for her to do the same. She hesitated, unsure of the beast and confused as to where they were going. "Come on, I need you with me. This is of the utmost importance," he told her. She didn't feel as if she could argue against him, so she carefully climbed onto the dragon's head, sitting as Zuko instructed her. Once she was settled, the beast gave one massive flap of it's leathery wings, and they were launched into the air. Arael clung tightly to Zuko's robes, a rush of adrenaline consuming her at the new sensation. She had never flown before, outside of in an airship. It was terrifying and wonderful all at the same time. There was a new kind of freedom in the sky.
As they rode, Zuko explained to her briefly what was going on. There was a group of terrorists called the Red Lotus who had made it their duty to rid the world of the Avatar. They had been stopped and each of the four members had been placed in a high security prison made specifically for them in four separate parts of the world. Ming-Hua, an extremely talented waterbender, had been secured in a prison inside of a volcano where absolutely no moisture was available for her to possibly use to escape. He said no more, but Arael could assume that it was very bad for Korra that the waterbender had escaped.
They arrived at the volcano and Arael was amazed at the conditions the woman had been kept. She must have been a real threat if they had locked her away in a prison such as this. It literally hung in the middle of the volcano.
Zuko dismounted the dragon, instructing Arael to stay where she was. She sat awkwardly on the creature, waiting silently for the old man to return. She could hear him angrily berating the guards and after a few minutes, he returned and climbed onto the dragon.
"I hope you don't mind making one last stop," he said, his voice laced with anger. The dragon leapt into the air once more. "It's worse than I thought. It was other members of the Red Lotus that helped her escape."
"Where are we going?" Arael asked timidly.
"The Northern Water Tribe. It's their next destination. The last member is there and if she escapes, Korra will be in more danger than she's ever been in before."
Arael shivered at the thought, wondering what sort of people could make it their priority to kill the Avatar. She was reminded of her dream from a few weeks ago and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. It had only been a dream, but Amon's message still resonated with her.
It was a long ride to the Northern Water Tribe, but when they arrived, three people waited for them. Zuko dismounted, this time gesturing for Arael to follow him. The arctic air was quite the change from the tropical Fire Nation weather she had grown used to and she crossed her arms against the icy chill that greeted her, wishing she had thought about bringing a coat.
"Is this who I think it is?" the man waiting for them asked gruffly, his eyes fixing on Arael with disgust.
"This is Arael. She's our only chance at stopping the Red Lotus from reuniting," Zuko said firmly.
"You mean to tell me that we've resorted to turning to a bloodbender for help?" the man asked with growing anger.
"If it's to protect your daughter, then I think it's the only choice we have," Zuko retorted and the man clenched his jaw. Arael's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. This was Tonraq, Korra's father. No wonder why he had reacted the way he had upon seeing her.
"I don't-" she began to say, but Zuko turned to her, gripping her shoulders and gazing at her intently.
"If there was a time in your life where you could make the greatest change in the world with your bloodbending, it would be now. And the change will be for the better. I know you swore it off, but you are Korra's only chance against these terrorists. You can't hold back."
She held his gaze for a moment, noticing how earnestly he looked at her. It was important to him that she stopped these people. She nodded to confirm that she understood. A sad smile found it's way onto his lips and he turned back toward the other's.
"Eska, Desna, would you be so kind as to lend us something warm to wear. I'm afraid we didn't dress for the occasion. Then we can proceed to the prison. Zaheer and the others will be here soon enough."