Korra, the French Avatar.
Prologue: The baby who comes out from the light.
2007. French Empire. Argentat-Sur-Dordogne.
It is the early spring. On the fields outside of the village. A red tractor was humming, dispersing the fertiliser on the crops underground. To prepare the crops for the harvest of this year.
Inside is a man in his late 20s, dressed in his farming clothes, he was blonde with brown eyes. He was focused on his work and the sound of the machine.
Long minutes goes as he continues to dispel the fertiliser on the 5 hectares of his propriety.
As the afternoon is drawing to a close, he was making his last line with his tractor.
But as he is doing it…
BOF! BWACH! PFFF!
The man widened and sees that smoke comes out from the motor.
"Oh, come on… Just I was about to finish…" The man grumbled.
He stops his tractor and the fertiliser machine before going out. He goes out of the vehicle and opened the hood of the motor. He could see that the oil tube was leaking and a small fire could be seen.
"That's my day…" The man grumbled.
He goes back inside of his seat to take the repair kit. He takes out a bucket of water with a towel inside. He puts it inside on the small fire of the oil who quickly quell by lack of air.
Then he goes away to wait that the heat is sufficiently low to repair the vehicle.
He sits down on the grass on the border of his field and looked at the sky with annoyance. He takes out from his pocket a small sandwich with ham and butter and began to eat.
But as he swallows his third bite. He witnesses something on the fields. A little blue light.
"Hm…? That's weird…" The man said.
But as he observed, the light shines more and more in the middle of his property and he was becoming shocked.
"Oh… I can't be…" The man said in wonder.
He takes out his phone, the recognizable 2G Iphone of this era. France Telecoms symbol could be soon on the back. He searches on the phone the photo applications.
"Come on, they say in the brand that I could film last week… Ah!" The man said.
He began to film. But as he observed through the phone. The blue light was forming a small bubble, a beating bubble who shines brighter and brighter. He realised that the bubble could explode.
"Nononononono!" The man panicked.
BLAAAAAASH!
The bubble explodes in a light who goes to the sky. But unlike he expected, the man is not blasted away, only a strong wind comes out.
"What the hell?!" The man said in disbelief.
The light finally dies out slowly to utterly disappear.
The man hesitantly walks toward the little hole. But as he does, he hears sounds of crying. A sound of a… baby?
The man walks to the small crater and he was shocked.
Inside of the small crater, there is a little baby, a little baby girl inside of a blanket on the dirt. Her skin was brown while her hair was dark brown. And he could see on one of its hands, there is a small lace bracelet with a name on it.
"Korra".
He realised that he was facing a newborn. He stops filming put his phone inside of his pocket and takes the baby in his arms.
But the baby only cried more.
"Shhhht… don't worry. Nothing to worry about…" The man tries to calm the baby down.
He put the baby on his left hand and takes out his phone and contacted his wife.
"Hello? Yes, Honey is me! Something terrible happened! The sound you are hearing? Yes! This is what I am talking about, I found a baby on the field! Yes! I have found a baby abandoned! Please! Call the gendarmerie! The bracelet on its hand that it's a newborn! Call the gendarmerie now! Thanks! I will stay close to the tractor!" The man said.
The man stopped the call and goes toward his tractor and sited down on the seat before trying to rock the baby.
"Shhhh… Don't worry. I am here, nothing will hurt you." The man said.
But the baby didn't listen and continues to cry loudly.
The situation continues to unfold for several minutes, until a car from the Imperial gendarmerie arrived on the road beside the tractor. The gendarmerie car has the Imperial French Emblem on the sides.
The farmer comes out from his tractor and goes toward the gendarmerie car.
The policemen come out from their car, with the eagle symbol on their badges.
"Hello… Mister Jules Arden?" The first gendarme asked.
"Yes." The man said.
"And this is the baby you have found?" The second gendarme asked pointing the baby.
"Yes…" Jules responded.
"Good, let's go to the police station, don't worry." The first gendarme said.
"Of course…" Jules said.
He sits down on the backseat of the vehicle, with Korra in his arms who was still crying. And the car left the fields, but also the tractor but he couldn't care less. He is holding a life in his very arms.
Minutes later, they arrived in front of the gendarmerie.
It was a big house, black and beige colours with three story. They go on the street behind, where the private parking is located.
They stopped in the parking. The gendarmes exited the vehicle, followed by Jules. Korra was in his arms; she has stopped crying but she still looks afraid and sad.
As they entered inside of the building. Jules witnessed someone. It was a long young brown-haired woman, dressed in a baker clothes. She was shocked to see Jules with the baby in his arms. Behind, there is a man a bit overweighs, who is aged in his 40s. His eyebrow was lifted.
The woman approached him.
"Oh… It wasn't false…" The woman said.
"Thanks to have called the police… Aurore…" Jules responded.
"You're welcome…" Aurore said.
"Jules, you know that I hate unexpected events. You caused Aurore to panic in my store." The baker said.
"I know mister Paner. But you know-"Jules began.
"I let it pass this time. This is isn't something that I have to involved now." Mister Paner said before he left the gendarmerie.
"We will conduce you to the chief of the gendarmerie." The first gendarme said.
"I will go, stay here Aurore." Jules said.
"Of course…" Aurore responded.
After walking a little. Jules arrived in the chief of the gendarmerie's office. The chief was here, an old man aged in his 60s. Behind him, there is the photography of the current Emperor Charles II Bonaparte. A brown-haired man with green eyes aged in his 30s dressed in the apparat clothes that Napoleon the Ist has put on.
The two gendarmes entered inside and closed the door behind. The group was now alone.
"Hm… you didn't lie. As I can see." The chief said.
His fulgurant look scare the baby and the little girl whined in fear. Jules put her on his side, trying to reassure her with his look. The baby looked at him and seems to calm down.
"I think I can talk with you… I think." Jules said.
"Explain me what happened." The chief said.
Jules tried his best to remain composed. But he knows that nobody would believe him that a baby just appeared in his fields. But he has an idea in mind.
"So, I just found her on the side of the road. Just posed here. Like Abandoned." Jules said.
"You didn't still someone or a car?" The chief asked.
"No, you know. My name is Jules Arden. I am a farmer who lives north of the village, possessing five hectares of terrain in the Laborderie road. I was focused on my work until like… 40 minutes ago. My tractor has broke down as I was finishing. I have walked inside of the field to verify what I have done already while the motor was cooling down. But I came back, I have heard cries and I discovered her, on the border of the road." Jules explained while lying.
"She?" The chief asked.
"It's because she is named Korra." Jules said.
He shows the bracelet where the baby has on its right hand, showing the name. The chief lifted his eyebrow.
"Hm… a newborn, I see. Are you sure you didn't see anyone?" the chief asked.
"Yes… Even when I have walked inside of the fields." Jules responded.
"I see… we'll verify your fields since we have time. My advice is you stay in the gendarmerie for now." The chief said.
"Of course…" Jules said.
"You two, you will verify his claims on place." The chief said.
"Yes, sire!" The duo of gendarmes said.
He comes out from the office, while the two gendarmes go out of the building. While Jules sits down on a seat, with beside him Aurore, who looked at Korra. No one wanted to speak first, realising the gravity of the situation.
At one moment, Aurore looks at Korra. The baby has now fallen asleep in the hands of Jules.
"Let me take her…" Aurore said.
"You want?" Jules asked.
"Yes…" Aurore said.
She takes the baby in her hands and she began to rock her.
"Where you come from, Korra?" Aurore asked.
As she rocks the baby, she wakes up and sees Aurore. But this time, the baby didn't cry, she was just curious. Aurore tries to smile to the baby to reassure her.
"Don't worry… nothing bad will happen to you." Aurore said.
The baby only stared back at the young woman.
Two hours later, the sun was setting. But the two gendarmes have come back and were talking inside of the office of the chief.
But then, they come out with the chief.
"So… we verified your claims. It seems you are telling the truth about your tractor and your movements." The chief said.
"Okay…" Jules said.
"But I find it strange that you didn't remark anything beside you. After all, if the baby was abandoned close to your field. It means that the baby was meant to be found. You are sure that you didn't notice anything suspect?" The chief asked.
"Absolutely." Jules replied simply.
The chief looked at the man and he didn't notice any sign of nervousness.
"I will give you the benefit of the doubt. After all, in my lifetime career, I learned that sometimes, things are happening before your eyes and you don't realise it." The chief said.
"So, what you will do?" Jules asked.
"We will try to make sure to find any recorded baby who has born in the last 4 weeks. Whose name is Korra. After all, this is not a known name in France." The chief said.
"And what about the baby?" Aurore asked.
"You will bring her to the Pluri-professional health center of the town. I am sure they will keep her in the meantime." The chief said.
"I am not sure…" Jules replied.
"Listen, this is the protocol… I don't like to do that to an innocent soul too. But we have to take precautions in the gendarmerie. If we don't find her parents… well… you have to make your house ready to welcome her if you don't want Korra to be send in orphanage." The chief said.
"Hm… okay…" Aurore said.
A gendarme extended his hands to the woman and Aurore reluctantly gives her to the gendarme. The baby widened, makes a sad face before crying loud.
"I don't like this…" Aurore said.
Jules holds her in response.
"Don't worry, she will be fine… I hope." Jules said.
"Hm…" Aurore hummed in response, worry about Korra.
The baby is brought outside of the gendarmerie. The chief turned back to the couple.
"So… I advise to go back in to your house…" the chief said.
"Okay… thanks…" Jules said.
The couple goes out of the gendarmerie. Now sullen with all of those events.
"How do we do?" Aurore asked.
"I don't know. Let's wait for a moment…" Jules said.
A few days later…
Jules was back on the fields, with his tractor now repaired. He was spraying pesticides on the dirt. He was dead worried about the wellbeing of the little baby girl.
At one moment, he stops his tractor and exited it.
He looked at the exact place, right in the center of where he has found the baby girl. He observed the dirt who was unchanged by it.
"I am worried too much…" Jules said.
He is about to go back inside of the tractor but his phone rings.
He takes it out.
"Hello? Aurore it's that you? Wait… What? Okay… I am coming!" Jules said.
He detached the pesticide cart from his tractor before climbing back inside and going conducing it on the road back to the city.
Long minutes later, inside of the city hall of the town.
The two is facing is the mayor of the village of Argentat-Sur-Dordogne in his office. An old man aged in his 60s, dressed in a proper outfit. Behind him was the same portrait of the Emperor of France.
"So, mister and miss Arden. With the investigation, we have verified the identity of the little baby we have found: Korra to be precise. And I regret to announce this but… we found nothing." The mayor said.
The couple was astonished.
"What do you mean nothing?" Aurore asked.
"We searched everywhere in the database, even in the databases of the Dominions of Alger and Tunis. But with the few Korra's we have encountered in the whole country. None of them has any link to the baby you have found. I think this is the kind of investigation that discovers unknown people." The mayor explained.
"And so, what will happen to the baby?" Jules asked.
"Unless someone is willing to adopt her right now. Well, she will go to the orphanage of Brive-la-Gaillarde in a few days." The mayor explained.
The couple turned at each other.
"What do you think?" Jules said.
"We tried five years since our marriage. And still no child in the horizon…" Aurore said with sadness.
"Hm… are you sure?" Jules said.
"Yes, maybe she could have a little brother or sister in the future to take care off." Aurore said.
"So, it's settled. Can we adopt her?" Jules asked.
The mayor looked at the couple before taking out from his desk two papers.
"I was expecting from you. After all, the chief of the gendarmerie has saw you that you didn't wanted harm for the baby. So, I will make a move for you." The mayor said.
"Thanks a lot…" Jules said.
"Yes, thanks…" Aurore said too.
"We are not the United States of America with their convoluted bureaucracy. We are the French Empire. And like the German Empire and the Russian Empire of the triple alliance. Our nations are for the wellbeing of our families." The mayor said.
"We know." Jules said.
"Yeah." Aurora responded too.
"Present these papers to the doctor. He will give you the baby." The mayor said.
"Give us a few days to prepare our house." Aurore said.
A few days later…
In front of a red house with a big grass garden and a small tree surrounding it. The house was small but has one story making it higher.
Aurore has in her arms, the little baby Korra. The baby was sleeping in her arms, sucking her thumb.
"You will be fine here, Korra." Aurore said.
She kissed her in her face.
Jules embraced his wife in his arms, she let it do it at the duo looked at the baby.
To be continued… Childhood of the Farm Girl.
Korra is growing inside of her family. She encounters a new friend in the Primary education in her first years of life.