Chapter 22: Bored Lies the Crowned Head

Eska was bored. She was always bored. Her brother always joined her in her, no - their shared boredom. The only thing recently that was even remotely exciting was watching Kuvira crush that insufferable Prince Wu's stupid medal, but that had been quite some time ago. Nothing ever happened in the Northern Water Tribe, and she wished she had been born during the 100 Year's war, swapping places with Princess Yue. It didn't help at all that Bolin, the one man who had shown any interest in her, was now far from her icy grasp.

Letting out a long, deep sigh, she told her brother, "Maybe we should start another Water Tribe Civil War - I'm just so, so bored. Tell me again, why didn't we try to get to Republic City as fast as we could?" Desna sighed in masked irritation, saying, "I already told you a hundred times - until one of us finds a mate and produces an heir, I don't feel like putting our lives at unnecessary risk. And from what I have heard filtering out from Republic City, the battle went fine without us."

Eska slumped even further into her stupid throne, if that were even possible. Why couldn't something interesting happen already? She mumbled out loud, "Probably doesn't help matters I don't find anything other than extremes interesting."

Desna said, "What on earth is that? Sister, look - see that weird shimmer in front of this dull throne?" Eska looked up, seeing her cousin's image in front of her. She said drolly, "Hello, Avatar and Cousin Korra - what do you want. Are you here to tell me about the battle I missed because my brother's even more boring that ruling the Northern Water Tribe?" Eska could feel Desna giving her an icy glare as her cousin said, "I'm here to tell you about a lot more interesting events that have happened over the past two days. Maybe it will make you not quite so bored." Eska stood up from her insipid seat, saying, "That will take some doing, Cousin. And who's that bald kid beside you?"

The image of Korra turned to face what must have been the image of a 12-year old Master Airbender and said, "Oh, for crying out loud! Really, Aang, in the middle of diplomacy? Go on, get out of here!" As what must have been Avatar Aang's image laughed deeply, another strange form joined her cousin's side. Eska let out a low "Huh?" - she had never seen this small, white-haired girl before, yet she seemed strangely familiar. Of particular interest to Eska was an odd teapot around the girl's neck. Korra turned to face this new figure, saying with great irritation, "Oh, great - not you too, Raava! I thought you told me you couldn't project this far away from my body." The girl giggled, saying, "I'm always pushing the envelope, Korra. Now let me watch." Avatar Aang's image laughed, saying, "Zuko WAS right - you two remind me an awful lot of Mai!" Before she could ask who this "Mai" was, Korra snapped at Avatar Aang's image, "That does it! Back in you go, Aang - you better not pull this stunt at the Ember Island Conference, or I'll be a laughing stock!"

Eska noted that the teapot around what must have been Raava's neck was shaking violently, opening an odd, metallic-looking clasp. A bone-chillingly familiar voice said from the teapot, "It's a shame what happened to your father, Eska and Desna, at the hands of your cousin. Applications for the position of Dark Avatar are open, you know - would you care to apply? I'm willing to overlook your little betrayal of me and your father." Despite all her anger at the formerly great spirit and finding his new home humorous, Eska simply said, "No thank you. My brother and I find ruling the Northern Water Tribe boring enough as is, and I don't think ruling the world would be any better, much less under eternal darkness. We will not be applying." Apparently, Raava had been in shock at Vaatu's appearance from the teapot, as only now did she yell, "Get back in there, you little piece of s-" as she cursed, shut the clasp and smacked the teapot's side. Eska smiled, but only slightly. Raava looked at her expression with amazement, saying to Korra with a concerned look on her face, "You told me these two were your cousins. I didn't know you had spirit cousins." Her cousin laughed, saying, "Not all humans are emotional, you know." Seemingly not buying it, Raava said, while pointing at Eska's face and her brother's, "I'm pretty sure I'm more human-y than either one of these two. But they make me curious." Raava turned her mouth from Korra's ear, saying, "Do you mind if I observe? I've never seen a human as cold as either one of you first-hand. Only through the Avatar's eyes."

Her brother let out an awkward laugh, as did Eska, her brother saying, "We don't mind. Now, back to what you were saying, Korra - obviously, it has something to do with Avatar Aang's image, and Raava's unusual form." Raava said, staring at Eska's brother, "My laugh is more human-y than that. Are you sure Unalaq didn't boink a spirit or two? He always did love spirits…" Seemingly frustrated that Desna's cheeks did not flush, Raava said, "Fine - do your boring talky-talky. I don't think you can infobend with a projection." Korra groaned, apparently very distraught that she could not "infobend" Eska and Desna - whatever infobending was - and began explaining the events of the past two days. When her cousin got to the part where she described Katara's discovery of Asami's pregnancy, Eska asked, "Do you think you could abduct someone unrelated to either of us and help me get an heir? I don't think my brother will do anything exciting with me until one of us has a stupid baby," rapping her fingers on a piece of ice near the throne. Raava and Korra both looked at each other with looks of disgust on their faces, saying "No, I will not help you in your quest for an heir! That's just sick!" at the same time. Korra added, "Sorry, lady buddy - you're going to have to woo someone the old fashioned way. I hear Mako is single." Eska shook her head, saying, "While he is not as prone to hysterics as his brother, he is still too emotional for my tastes. Next suggestion." Raava gave her a funny look and said, "Sounds to me like a rock would be too emotional for you. Maybe you just need to lighten up, and go see the world some - I used to be pretty serious, and look where I am now! More human-y than a human, apparently." Eska shook her head side-to-side slightly as the small, white-haired girl asked Korra, "Are you sure your cousins aren't half-spirit? Their faces move about as much as Koh's does when he's being serious."

Finally tired of this meaningless banter, Desna said, "Cousin, we'd appreciate it if you continued onwards in your story. We don't have all day, you know. In fact, tell me about this 'infobending' - it sounds like a time-saver." Korra sighed, saying, "I have done it within the Spirit World before, from two human spirits to myself to Bolin. And Raava managed to do her reading of Su and Lin as a projection - although she was much, much closer then. I guess I could try it like this, but I'd need to use the Avatar State to do it - if it's even possible." Korra explained this odd "infobending" to Eska and her brother, finishing, "Now let's give it a shot - if this doesn't work, I'll just have to do it later. And by the way, the only reason I've told you so much detail so far is because I figure you'd find the personal details so boring you wouldn't bother telling anyone else, and it appears I was right, given your… reaction to news of Asami's pregnancy." The image of Korra jumped in front of Eska and her brother, while Raava appeared behind their backs. Eska saw Korra's eyes flash temporarily, but felt no information flow. Korra said, with an unsurprised tone, "See? I told you this wouldn't work, Raava. I'll just do it physically when they get to Ember Island." Raava said to Korra angrily, "NO, I told YOU it wouldn't work - I said it first in your head! Now just tell them what you came here to say already!" Eska's accursed father Unalaq had wished she or her brother had been the Avatar, but watching this new Raava, Eska found herself glad it had been Korra, and not her – even if being the Avatar wasn't boring.

Liking the sound of this, the possibility her cousin and Raava would just get on with it, Eska asked a now angry Korra, "If my guess is right, you want me and my brother, rulers of the Northern Water Tribe, to come to Ember Island for some sort of world leaders meeting so we can have yet more babbling. I oh so look forward to talking with President Raiko." Korra said, "Yes - although, there is one thing you should do immediately. Create a no-pass zone around the Northern Spirit Portal - I don't want any innocents wandering too close and getting snatched by Long Yumao." Remembering this "Long Yumao" as the spirit that had threatened to have Koh steal Asami's face, Eska said, "Sure. Now I am bored of this conversation, so please allow me to be bored while creating this exclusion zone and bored while in transit to Ember Island. Good day, Avatar and Cousin Korra." With that, the two forms vanished from in front of her and her brother.

Finally having a reason to leave the throne room, Eska tugged on her brother's large, flowing coat, saying, "Come on - let's make that exclusion zone and head to Ember Island. If we get there before everyone else, maybe we can catch 'The Boy in the Iceberg' - I never have seen a decent play." Her brother said, "Sounds good - maybe you or I can find a mate there. Let us leave now."

Thinking on what Raava had said, Eska told her brother as they approached the Spirit Portal on a wave of ice, "When we're making this barrier, let's try and feel the ice as we bend it, and leave some warnings on its surface. Maybe we will actually have some 'fun'." With a weak smile, Desna nodded and said, "Sounds like a good idea. I do hate being bored."

As they began to create a massive ice barrier around the foot of the portal and felt the flow of the water and ice as they did so, making sure to not damage any of the sacred trees, Eska - and apparently Desna, too, given his widening smile - felt small amounts of emotions that Eska didn't know she had. Remembering a scene from her childhood in which her father, Unalaq, had scolded them for such behavior, she bent a small "snowball" and threw it at Desna in the face as he was on top of a wave of ice, messing up his concentration and causing him to go flying face-first into a snowbank, narrowly avoiding a massive stump in the snow nearby. Eska let out a sound she had heard Raava make earlier that she remembered from her childhood "snowball" fight - a giggle. She could hear her brother laughing like a three-year old, suddenly stopping with an angry look on his face. He turned to face her, with some odd moisture at the corners of his eyes, "Now I remember another reason our father was an abominable man. One that we have both denied since our childhoods. Just like Hiroshi Sato did to his daughter, he forced us to repress feelings that he did not feel fit a ruler's children to have - but he was worse! Hiroshi Sato just repressed Asami's lesbian tendencies - OUR father repressed everything! Seeing a spirit mock me for not being human enough opened my mind and made me think things I was always taught to dismiss or keep bottled up inside. Seeing you throw that snowball at me just brought everything to a head." He stood up, bending the water away from his eyes, saying, "Raava is right - we do need to go out and experience the world more. Let's finish this - I want to see if a play can help us both heal from our evil father's much older wounds."

As her brother talked, Eska felt as though ice was melting - but not from bending. Running over and hugging him, she said, "To the future!" Both siblings finished the warnings signs and barriers, making sure to make up for the missed play of their youth along the way. After they finished, they took a waterbending craft and worked in unison, feeling the flow of the water around them, smiling more in increments, until Eska could feel her mouth holding the form of a genuine smile.

After many hours - Eska did not feel tired at all, oddly enough, having taken only one break to eat - both arrived at Ember Island, having found it on a map Desna had brought. When she and her brother went to the building that housed the Ember Island Players after getting directions from some jumpy locals, they spotted what must have been one of the troupe's managers. He stood straight up, saying, "Chief Eska and Chief Desna! We are honored to have you here - here, have some tickets, on the house!" Eska took the tickets as her brother said, "No, sir - we are honorable people. We have heard that you have not been able to get good writers lately, so take this." Desna fished twenty-five thousand yuans out of his robes, and a shocked Eska found herself adding fifteen thousand yuans of her own. Neither of them had ever liked those awkward coins with holes other people in their tribe called "money". The manager managed to stutter, "T-t-thank you! With this, we should be able to start creating a new play - we haven't had anything new in over twenty years, and that one was panned!" He put his hands to his chin, saying, "We'll call it the Legend of Eska and Desna, in your honor! It will be about Harmonic Convergence, and your timely turn against your father!" Now it was Eska who held up a hand while fishing for more yuans, saying, "No - we're no legends. At least not yet. Korra is the only legend I know of - and I get the feeling she's going to become even more legendary shortly." Noticing the show was about to start, Eska grunted, "It's not like we have any use for all this money anyways - I never did understand why taxes were so high in our tribe," holding out a huge fat stack of money to the manager. It was probably one hundred thousand yuans, give or take, and Eska handed it to a now blubbering manager. The manager was mumbling, "The Legend of Korra? No, no - that sounds awkward. The Tale of Korra? That's it!" as she took her brother's hand and ran towards their seats, eager to begin watching the show - and melting their father's ice.

The performers gave a very lively performance, which Eska enjoyed thoroughly, and given her brother's laughter, he did as well. As she hugged him tightly after the depiction of Aang's final merciful act, Zuko's inspiring speech and the final kiss between Aang and Katara, she saw a fleeting vision of a thick, purple-imbued ice prison shattering, letting what must have been her three-year old self free. A familiar male voice howled in the distance, as though from inside an impenetrable fog.

Eska sighed deeply, and a voice she recognized from earlier said, It appears that the Avatar's past lives were not Unalaq's only prisoners, nor the first. Now go, Eska - and learn to be human-y with your brother!