Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Make A Man Out Of You ❯ Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: MikariStar 
Non Anime: Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.08.2015 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.9K | Visits: 387 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.08.2015 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.9K | Visits: 387 | Status: Completed
Make A Man Out Of You
Chapter 1: Business Trip
You briskly entered the Fire Nation throne room with no clue of what fate awaited you. You had been working in the palace for nearly a year and had only seen the Firelord a few times from afar. She had a very intellectual look to her, but also a firm gaze that denoted strength, and perhaps stubbornness. You gave only a passing glance to the elegant decorations, as your mind remained occupied in recalling what you had done wrong. Though you kept drawing a blank and were sure you had properly finished your chores, you could think of no other reason to be called before the ruler of your home nation other than being in trouble.
You marched before the throne, remaining at what you calculated was a prudent distance and suppressed the need to proclaim your innocence at the top of your lungs. You were a semi-decent fire bender at best, so you hope she wasn't planning to challenge you to Agni Kai. The flames that danced behind the throne made the lady's golden glasses glow, giving her eyes a mysterious and threatening quality. "Your highness..." You bowed nervously.
"I have called you here for a very important reason," the Firelord began, her voice ringing across the spacious throne room. "Chief Eska of the water tribe will be visiting our nation soon and as a gesture of good will, I wish to send a trustworthy member of my staff to assist her in her preparations." The voice of the ruler came closer and by the time you dared to peek up from your bowing pose, she was right in front of you. She gestured for you to stand as she continued in a secretive voice. "Eska is... She's viewed as being intimidating, but I would like to strengthen the friendly diplomacy with the North Pole. After their war with the South, I fear their people are being judged unfairly, as it happened to the Fire Nation following the end of Ozai's rule. My father, Firelord Zuko, had to work very hard alongside Avatar Aang to foster good will."
You stared at the Firelord, or Firelady rather, her voice had become caring and understanding without losing its strength, it was soothing and secure. "I will do my best to create a good impression of our nation." You smiled, finally relaxing. You were given a pretty important job and the chance to travel far away and see new places. You were so excited that you weren't immediately concerned about Eska's cold and intimidating reputation.
The Firelord nodded, "try to be her friend," you agreed to the request without a second thought. Being friendly should be easy enough, especially when your mind was filled with thoughts of delicious sea food dishes and delightfully sweet popsicles, in an icy city that glittered as if it was made of diamond. Who knows, maybe you would meet a handsome Water Tribe warrior who would steal your heart. They were said to have the deepest blue eyes, well built tanned bodies, soft brown hair... and the eyes, the looked so hypnotic in magazines. They were all probably built like Nuktuk from the movers, which were in black and white, so you didn't even notice that the main actors' anatomy was distinctly Earth Kingdom. With thoughts of being swept off your feet by a handsome Nuktuk look alike, you happily returned to your room to pack for the trip.
xoxox xox xoxox
Chapter 2: Cold and Confused
A soft whine escaped your lips as you tried to suppress the sensation of pain. You didn't pack any sunscreen, who would pack sunscreen on a trip to the North Pole? Toph grunted and muttered something about wimps under her breath, while Kai gave you a sympathetic glance and offered a quiet "we're almost there," which you did not believe.
You assumed you would be traveling by ship or maybe even by airship if you were lucky, but you never would have guessed the trip would be by sky bison. Kai, one of the new air benders that were perhaps not so new anymore by now, was the chauffeur. Katara was visiting the North Pole, presumably as a representative from the South in a gesture of good will, and Toph, after disappearing for some time, decided to leave her swamp and go visit Katara. Never the patient one, instead of waiting for the water bender to return home, Toph decided to catch up with her at the North Pole. She stopped at the Fire Nation to find another ship to hitch hike on further up, and ended up joining you in your transportation.
Kai had only been passing by as an air nomad, but offered to take you to the North Pole. What was at first a cool ride, soon turned into a scorching death trap with no overhead protection from the burning sun. Toph had commented it was pathetic that a fire bender would get sunburn so easily, you were in too much pain to reply.
As the climate became increasingly cold the further north you went, you found yourself debating between the discomfort of the cold or the extra layers of fabric against your skin. You changed your mind about which was worse so often that you caught a cold and were nothing but a sniffling pile of misery by the time you reached the North Pole.
You stumbled off the bison, sneezing and sniffling, with a gust of wind from Kai saving you from falling off the animal and cracking your skull. You heard the faint echo of words spoken around you and miserably stumbled after the group, while some attendants carried your bags.
Toph ran off somewhere, muttering something about the freezing cold floor and hopping around with more energy than a woman her age would be expected to have. She returned soon after, dragging you away by the arm, which caused you to yelp as her bony hand pressed the fabric of your sleeve against your tender skin.
The next thing you knew you were being shoved into a room and Toph was pulling off your coat. " I found you a healer," she explained as she tugged on the red clothing underneath.
You actually liked blue better, but your culture insisted that you wore red. "Cold," you tried to bat her hands away, but she was fast.
"Quit whining and let the healer have a look," with one last tug of fabric, the spunky old woman left you in the cold in your under garments.
"I'm freezing!" A moment later the embarrassment also sunk in. At least the healer in question was female, you thought. The situation was marginally less mortifying since you were all girls as far as you knew.
"Well? Heal her?" At Toph's insistence, the girl in blue robes nodded wordlessly.
She was tan, like the water benders from the poles, had long brown hair and bright blue eyes. The water bender called upon some of the ice from the walls, it became water at her command and covered your tender skin. She almost flinched with slight apology as you yelped at the cold sensation, then relaxed into the healing glow.
Your skin was left as good as new, but you were still cold and sick, so you hurried to dress, shivering all the while. "She's a wimpy one, this one, but she has potential," Toph told the healer. "Well, I'm gonna go say hi to Katara, she should be ready to leave by now if my mental calendar doesn't fail me. I guess we'll both catch a ride, it'll be faster than a boat."
You were too sick to comment on the fact that Toph had traveled all that way and now she was leaving along with Katara, apparently on Kai's bison. Your skin felt renewed and the coat was much more comfortable against it, but you were still lightheaded and it was getting dark...
xoxox xox xoxox
"How is your health, visitor from the Fire Nation?" You opened your eyes to a female monotone voice.
"Better," you muttered. You noticed that the one who spoke was the young woman who took care of your sunburn before. "Thank you for the healing. What's your name?" You sat up but remained under the covers, timidly admiring the decorative carvings on the icy palace walls.
"Eska," the girl replied with an expressionless face. "And I did nothing."
"What a coincidence," you smiled, assuming that by did nothing she meant it was no trouble. "The same name as the chief."
"I am the chief," Eska revealed.
You stared at her, your mouth agape. "Chief Eska?! Your highness, I'm so sorry!"
"I see nothing that requires an apology," Eska spoke in that unreadable voice of hers. "Rest and when you have recovered, we will have a diplomatic discussion in preparation for my trip to the Fire Nation. Make sure you drink the healing water." Without waiting for a reply, Eska left the room.
You sighed and laid back in bed, unwilling and maybe unable to leave the warmth of the covers, despite feeling much better. You glanced at the icy nightstand, most things seemed to be made of ice in the castle, and spotted a bottle of shiny liquid. It was beautiful, as if it was meant to be left there as a decoration, undisturbed. You gingerly reached for it and took a zip, it was cool, sweet and soothing. Though you started your trip by making a fool of yourself in front of the local monarch and had her serve you instead of the other way around, maybe the diplomatic disaster could still be salvaged.
A knock on the door interrupted your thoughts and you called for the person to enter. You watched with puzzled curiosity as the icy door slid aside by the power of bending, momentary wondering how heavy it would feel to a non-water bender such as yourself. Yet your mind soon focused on more important matters, such as the fact, the so called fact, that Eska had returned. "Chief Eska?"
She tilted her head in confusion and opened her mouth as if to speak, only to think better of it and close it with a shake of the head. Wordlessly she exited the room and you couldn't help it but to focus on the bizarre occurrence and muse that there was something different about her. You couldn't tell exactly what it was, but for a moment her features seemed almost imperceptibly different and she carried herself with an air that you could only think to describe as tomboyish.
xoxox xox xoxox
Chapter 3: Fangirl Vision
You were feeling much better and ready to actually go do your job and assist Eska, instead of being assisted by her staff. 'It's a miracle I haven't been fired.' You were not looking forward to explaining the happenings to the Firelord.
After leaving your room, you went in search of Eska, only to be pulled into a room without warning with a loud exclamation of "she can test it!"
You yelled in surprised and pushed away the man who had shouted the unexpected proclamation. A small flame materialized in the air in front of your hand and you recoiled away from it, even if it had not come into contact with your glove.
"Woah there, I can understand you're excited, but try to contain your enthusiasm!" The man exclaimed. He looked as if he might be from the water tribe, in terms of ethnicity at least, though his enthusiastic behavior and energetic atmosphere seemed better suited for someone who lived in one of those big cities where pro-benders and movers stars thrived. Though he wasn't a bender, that or he wasn't a particularly talented one, you could tell by the lack of fluidness of his movements, as if he was hopping from one place to another, rather than flowing like a current.
A woman whose origin you couldn't quite place sighed in exasperation and adjusted her small glasses. She was another non-bender, you guessed, as benders tended to have strong genetic ties to their nations, which often manifested in identifiable physical traits, though that might become less common as the nations continued to mix. You relaxed, you liked non-benders, they didn't care about your lack of bending skills. The man had startled you, but upon giving him a second look, he seemed harmless enough, just hyper. "What is this about?" You inquired with some degree of curiosity.
"My new invention!" The man exclaimed. He picked up an odd device from a table near by. As he took a moment to admire the odd thing, you couldn't help it but to glance around the room. It was a mess, tools, wires, nuts and bolts were tossed all over the place. This wasn't like the organized chaos of your room back home, this was simply pure chaos. "Try it on!" You were brought back to reality when the man placed the odd contraption in your hands.
"I could test it..." The woman offered.
"No," the man insisted and the woman rolled her eyes in response. The man cleared his throat, as if he himself did not understand the logic behind his behavior. "I mean... You should take a break, Zhu Li," the name sounded somewhat Earth Kingdom to you.
You had always wanted to experience an international environment like Republic City, though you didn't expect to find it here. You poked at the contraption in your hands. It looked like goggles with thick glass and a strange machine framing them. "Are these supposed to be binoculars?"
"These are fangirl vision goggles!" The man exclaimed. "They allow you to see what could be! This will be Valrick Industries' invention of the year!"
"Valrick?" You thought there was something familiar about the strange man. "The one who wrote, directed and produced the Nuktuk movers?"
"The very same! Now put on those goggles and go look at men, then report your findings to me!" Before you could inquire about the possibility of a new season of Nuktuk movers, ask if he could get you Nuktuk's autograph, or voice any other words, he pushed you out of the room, while simultaneously fastening the goggles on your head with two belts on the sides and another on top to support the machine's weight.
You stumbled dizzily before regaining your balance and trying to pull the goggles off, they made everything too wavy and strange, as if you were dreaming. Unfortunately, you couldn't get the belts untangled and Valrick's door was closed, with the sound of random clings and clangs coming from the other side, as work began on some other crazy project.
Telling yourself to endure it in hopes of being rewarded with Nuktuk merchandise, you stumbled down the icy halls, unsure of what you were supposed to do. Valrick said to look at men, did that mean you were responsible for finding a new protagonist for his next mover? Such thoughts were quite exciting, but they soon vanished from your head, along with everything else. Your mental train derailed into a rush of adrenaline, as you found exactly what you were looking for.
You hardly noticed Eska's presence, for you could only focus on the man next to her. You didn't even take a moment to wonder if he was cold walking around in nothing but shorts, you just stared. You took in everything from his well toned body, six pack included, and smooth bronze skin, to his soft brown hair and deep blue eyes that threatened to give you a heart attack there and then.
The pair turned towards you, with Eska commenting, "it seems you are still not well, your face is red with a fever."
"Perhaps you should not volunteer to assist Valrick in these conditions." The man added, while you could only smile like an idiot. It was clear to him that the contraption on your face was from Valrick, but he didn't know what it did. The business tycoon and his crew had arrived while you were bedridden accompanying Bolin, whose presence in the North Pole you were unaware of, in a tour to promote Valrick Industries.
"She might be in a worse state of health than before, she seems to have been reduced to a completely unresponsive state," Eska commented. "My water bending is better suited for combat," she hinted.
The handsome man nodded, "I will make sure no harm comes to the Fire Nation diplomat." You weren't sure if it was the excitement, or if the goggles messing with your vision and squeezing your head were to blame, but you really did faint.
xoxox xox xoxox
Chapter 4: Pyrotechnics
When you woke up, you were no longer wearing the oversized goggles and the world no longer looked like a dreamy haze. Your consciousness connected with your memories and you sat up on your bed, you had been carried to your room. You spotted Eska next to your bed, which was odd considering she claimed to be better at combat. You thought she was a very skilled healer, though she was no doubt a strong fighter as well. "Eska?"
The water bender let out a frustrated breath. Though no words were spoken by the monarch, you thought she sounded kind of rough, as if that breath belonged to a deeper voice than hers. You immediately attributed it to anger and apologized. "I'm so sorry, chief Eska. I'm supposed to be helping out, assisting and being diplomatic, but I've been nothing but a burden." You could feel tears in your eyes as it hit you that you were making your nation look terrible. This wasn't just an impression of yourself, it was representative of your whole nation.
Eska stood without a word. You could still see some annoyance in her eyes, which were devoid of her usual eye shadow, making them look less fem... er, angular. Yet the look softened as she reached out and patted your shoulder in reassurance. She smiled, then left without a word.
You interpreted that she had forgiven you, but you still felt bad. You resolved to do everything perfectly from this point on, with no distractions.
xoxox xox xoxox
After you were sure you could leave your room without making a fool of yourself again, you did. Upon searching for Eska to ask if there was anything you could do for her, you instead found Valrick. You froze and considered running back to your room, but he spotted you before you could escape and it would be rude to openly run away.
"Ah, there you are," Valrick approached, the young man he had been speaking to before walking beside him. "This is the lady I was telling you about, the one that will discover the next movers star if you don't hurry up and sign a contract for a Nuktuk sequel!"
Albeit you were determined not to be distracted, you couldn't help it and asked. "Are you Nuktuk's agent?" The young man with green eyes was handsome enough to be an actor himself, and there was something familiar about him.
"Um, no," Bolin blinked, actually surprised. "I am Nuktuk."
You laughed, "of course you are. Nuktuk is a water bender, he's tan and has blue eyes and walks around shirtless to please his fans." He used to be a pro-bender, you read in a magazine, though you were never into pro-bending for personal reasons, thus the details eluded you.
Bolin just stared in shock, as if he didn't know how to react, his jaw ajar. Valrick nodded, taking mental notes of everything you said. "Right, right, the next movers star should walk around shirtless to please the fangirls, makes sense. It's decided, it's time to move on. Next time I'm casting a water bender as a fire bender!"
Zhu Li approached the group at the hallway and announced, "everything has been loaded onto the ship."
Bolin took that as his cue and headed out of the palace towards the port, muttering "I'm a has been." The whole way.
"Thank you, Zhu Li," Valrick cheerfully replied, letting Bolin go about his business, mind occupied in other matters. "You're the best wife a man could ask for."
"I also made tea," she added. Valrick hugged his wife and pulled her into a kiss, though he ended up being swept off his feet and held at an angle while they both melted into the embrace.
Looking past the PDA you mused about how you never understood some men's fascination with tea. The now retired Firelord Zuko loved it, a habit he picked up from his uncle Iroh, after whom his grandson was named. The legacy of Iroh's tea was still strong and some said that a man wasn't a man if he didn't know his tea. Women drank tea as well, but to them it was just a beverage.
Honestly, there was nothing inherently manly about a cup of tea, though that was just your opinion. You heard they used to market little tea sets as toys for girls decades ago, but despite tea being a unisex drink, you were doubtful about that. Tea parties were such a stereotypical boy thing, not that it was in any way wrong for girls to have them, it just wasn't as common.
The loving embrace ended and Zhu Li cleared her throat. "We apologize the fangirl goggles made you ill," she elbowed her husband.
"Yes, sorry about that," Valrick recited, before continuing with genuine interest. "Before we head out to Republic City, let me ask, did you observe anything peculiar while wearing the goggles?"
Your face turned scarlet at the memory. You could hardly find your voice, but the man you saw needed to be in a mover, such perfection couldn't be hidden from the world. "There was a man, he was walking with chief Eska. I don't know his name but... He was... He looked like he could totally be a movers star!"
"Could be," Valrick mused, rubbing his chin in thought. "Could be," he repeated as if the condition was critical. "Zhu Li, let's do the thing!"
"Alright, I'll have our things unloaded and have the ship continue the tour without us," the woman agreed. You couldn't help it but to stare. What just happened? When was this decided? Was she a mind reader?
What exactly was decided anyway? What was making them stay? "The thing?"
"Yes, you can be a part of it too," Valrick sounded as if he was doing you a favor, or maybe more so bestowing a great honor upon you.
The alarms in your head went off. "I don't think I should be getting involved. I mean, I have a job to do and I'm already so behind!" Far more behind than you thought, as you realized you still didn't know the specifics of your job.
"You're doing the diplomatic thing with Eska and Desna, just do more of it with Desna." Valrick resolved, in an explanation that left your head spinning.
"Huh?" You stared in perplexity.
"Desna, Eska's brother, he must have been the man you saw walking with her, or rather a version of him," Valrick explained.
You weren't sure what he meant by a version, but the image of that perfect man was too distracting in your memories. "He did look like he was from the water tribe."
"Exactly, which is why we're going to make his character a fire bender, gotta bring out his acting potential, Nuktuk was an earth bender after all. You didn't even recognized him a while ago." Valrick continued talking about his project and discussing plot ideas, but it was all list to you.
That was Nuktuk? The real deal? You tried to imagine him in black and white, without the tan, or the brown hair, or the blue eyes that water benders from the poles often had. The basic shape was there, the hair style was there, the facial features were... mostly there. The nose looked bigger in person, but movers stars were known to wear make-up on the set, even the men, so the slightly smaller nose on the screen could be attributed to that.
"Nuktuk..." You kept muttering the word repeatedly in a soft whisper under your breath, mentally kicking yourself for your missed opportunity. You considered running out of the palace and into the port, right into the ship, but Zhu Li's approach directing a multitude of hired servants carrying various supplies could only mean the ship had sailed.
You remained unresponsive throughout Valrick's speech until the very end when he spelled out your doom, "and you'll be in charge of the pyrotechnics!"
"What?!" You shouted in shock, all color drained from your face.
"That's movers speak for fire effects," Valrick calmly but excitedly explained. He walked off to tell Zhu Li about his plot ideas, mentioning something about how fortunate it was that they happened to have a fire bender in hand, as if you were part of the supplies.
xoxox xox xoxox
Chapter 5: Illusions
You had to find Eska, you had to get her to assign you a job. You desperately needed to look busy, feel busy and just be busy. You shuddered at the thought of having to firebend. Lack of practice due to trauma fueled fear made you a mediocre bender at best and combined with your inevitable nervousness it would be a recipe for disaster. Your only escape, without appearing to be rude, uncooperative, or revealing your lack of talent, was to become so occupied in more important official matters, that you couldn't possibly find the time to assist Valrick.
After inquiring of the guards, you were directed towards an ice garden at the back of the palace courtyard. You looked around in wonderment at the detailed ice sculptures of flowers. Elegantly carved pillars stood with icy vines wrapped around them. The most impressive part was that unlike the silvery white palace, the garden was filled with color.
The water had been tinted with various shades before being crafted into ice by skillful water benders. You admired the detailed red roses tempted to remove your thick gloves to touch them, though you knew it was a bad idea. The cold would be very unpleasant against your bare skin and you didn't want to break any of the ice flowers.
The sound of an echoing voice nearby caught your attention and you approached the structure at the other side of the garden. It was similar to a hedge maze, except it was made of ice. They must have put some metallic particles in the ice or something, because it was far too reflective, like mirrors.
You didn't want to get lost in the icy mirror maze, but the voice sounded close, a gentle female monotone. "If you want to participate in the mover, I will support you, just as I did when you expressed interest in learning healing techniques."
You hurried to catch up with whom you assumed to be Eska and called out to her. "Chief Eska!" You stopped a few feet inside the maze. Mirrors reflected mirrors and it was very confusing. You saw Eska, but you didn't know which one was real. Oddly, there seemed to be twice as many reflections of Eska as there were of you, and some of them seemed different from each other, though it was hard to say why.
Seeing your helplessness Eska approached, her reflections moving in pairs, as if there were two of her. "Is there something that you require?"
"Um... Actually..." You looked down in embarrassment, ashamed at the job you had done thus far. This prevented you from further observing the odd phenomenon of the mirrors that reflected Eska twice as many times as you. "I was hoping I could do something for you."
There was a pause, as if the water princess was considering what to say. Then she came up with something you were not happy to hear. "Assist in the process of the mover."
That was it, you received a direct order from the person you were supposed to be assisting. You couldn't very well refuse, it was your job to be useful to Eska and you did feel bad that you had been taken care of but were yet to give anything in return. "Yes, princess," you replied sadly.
"You may call me Eska," the chief voiced. You didn't lift your head and didn't question it when she said, "you may call my brother Desna. You will be assisting him as well, if he decides to partake in the mover."
"I will do my best," you nervously replied. "I will prepare immediately, excuse me," you bowed, though you hadn't lifted your head in the first place. Though Eska just basically asked you to drop the formalities, this was the only way you could think of to hide your panicked expression.
You hurried out of the maze, which wasn't too bad since you had only walked in a short way, not quite enough to get lost, though you were sure you would get lost if you went any further. Glancing back at the structure, it seemed that Eska had continued her stroll. Who was she talking to before? She was alone as far as you could tell. Maybe she was practicing what she intended to tell someone, her voice echoing off the walls and helping her measure her words. You supposed it wasn't all that strange if she wanted to say things just right. She mentioned the mover, maybe she was practicing what she would say to her brother.
The selfish part of you hoped Desna would refuse Valrick's offer, whatever it might be. At least then maybe you'd be off the hook as the pyrotechnician. You thought of Desna and wondered when you would see him again. You had only met him once, as far as you knew, when you were wearing the goggles that made your vision wavy. He certainly looked handsome enough for a mover but that would only mean you had the opportunity to embarrass yourself in front of the next mover star.
You sighed hopelessly as you made your way back inside the palace en route to Valrick's lab.
"You okay, pretty lady." You gave the question no mind, you didn't think it was directed at you. Then one of the guards stood in front of you, making it impossible to ignore him. "Lost in thought, beautiful?"
You looked around confused, "me?"
He grinned and a rush of heat washed over you. He was handsome, quite a bit taller than you, his hair was in a short ponytail, shaved at the sides in a more southern warrior style. It was different from the long haired half ponytails that northern water tribe men had come to favor, but it suited him. Yet the heat wasn't a blush rushing to your cheeks, it was an alarming kind of heat. It was as if your body had decided of its own accord that you were in danger and had to fight.
It was stupid, you mentally chastised yourself. You were in no danger, you were inside the palace, with a guard right in front of you. You shifted uncomfortably, "sorry... I..." Your fingertips tingled and you tried to hold it back. Your natural element wanted to manifest itself and you couldn't allow it.
"A bit shy? Oh pardon me miss diplomat. Far be it for this humble warrior to overstep his place," he bowed, a hand over his heart. He slightly looked at you, now closer to eye level since he was bent over. His eyes were such a pale blue, almost silver. His hair was a dark brown and his skin a perfect bronze.
"It's nice to meet you..." You tried to calm your wildly beating heart, refusing to allow a single spark of fire to manifest.
"Kalok," he supplied with a seductive tone that was almost lost to you in your stress.
At least you managed you give him your name, which he already seemed to be aware of anyway, but in your defense you could say that you weren't used to being recognized. "I must be going..." You clenched your fists and wondered what you looked like to him, shifting your weight nervously.
"Of course, I hope we can speak again during your stay here." Kalok moved aside, allowing you to pass.
You scurried away, feeling your out of control bending starting to settle down. Kalok probably assumed you needed to go to the bathroom, badly.
To be Continued
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Chapter 1: Business Trip
You briskly entered the Fire Nation throne room with no clue of what fate awaited you. You had been working in the palace for nearly a year and had only seen the Firelord a few times from afar. She had a very intellectual look to her, but also a firm gaze that denoted strength, and perhaps stubbornness. You gave only a passing glance to the elegant decorations, as your mind remained occupied in recalling what you had done wrong. Though you kept drawing a blank and were sure you had properly finished your chores, you could think of no other reason to be called before the ruler of your home nation other than being in trouble.
You marched before the throne, remaining at what you calculated was a prudent distance and suppressed the need to proclaim your innocence at the top of your lungs. You were a semi-decent fire bender at best, so you hope she wasn't planning to challenge you to Agni Kai. The flames that danced behind the throne made the lady's golden glasses glow, giving her eyes a mysterious and threatening quality. "Your highness..." You bowed nervously.
"I have called you here for a very important reason," the Firelord began, her voice ringing across the spacious throne room. "Chief Eska of the water tribe will be visiting our nation soon and as a gesture of good will, I wish to send a trustworthy member of my staff to assist her in her preparations." The voice of the ruler came closer and by the time you dared to peek up from your bowing pose, she was right in front of you. She gestured for you to stand as she continued in a secretive voice. "Eska is... She's viewed as being intimidating, but I would like to strengthen the friendly diplomacy with the North Pole. After their war with the South, I fear their people are being judged unfairly, as it happened to the Fire Nation following the end of Ozai's rule. My father, Firelord Zuko, had to work very hard alongside Avatar Aang to foster good will."
You stared at the Firelord, or Firelady rather, her voice had become caring and understanding without losing its strength, it was soothing and secure. "I will do my best to create a good impression of our nation." You smiled, finally relaxing. You were given a pretty important job and the chance to travel far away and see new places. You were so excited that you weren't immediately concerned about Eska's cold and intimidating reputation.
The Firelord nodded, "try to be her friend," you agreed to the request without a second thought. Being friendly should be easy enough, especially when your mind was filled with thoughts of delicious sea food dishes and delightfully sweet popsicles, in an icy city that glittered as if it was made of diamond. Who knows, maybe you would meet a handsome Water Tribe warrior who would steal your heart. They were said to have the deepest blue eyes, well built tanned bodies, soft brown hair... and the eyes, the looked so hypnotic in magazines. They were all probably built like Nuktuk from the movers, which were in black and white, so you didn't even notice that the main actors' anatomy was distinctly Earth Kingdom. With thoughts of being swept off your feet by a handsome Nuktuk look alike, you happily returned to your room to pack for the trip.
xoxox xox xoxox
Chapter 2: Cold and Confused
A soft whine escaped your lips as you tried to suppress the sensation of pain. You didn't pack any sunscreen, who would pack sunscreen on a trip to the North Pole? Toph grunted and muttered something about wimps under her breath, while Kai gave you a sympathetic glance and offered a quiet "we're almost there," which you did not believe.
You assumed you would be traveling by ship or maybe even by airship if you were lucky, but you never would have guessed the trip would be by sky bison. Kai, one of the new air benders that were perhaps not so new anymore by now, was the chauffeur. Katara was visiting the North Pole, presumably as a representative from the South in a gesture of good will, and Toph, after disappearing for some time, decided to leave her swamp and go visit Katara. Never the patient one, instead of waiting for the water bender to return home, Toph decided to catch up with her at the North Pole. She stopped at the Fire Nation to find another ship to hitch hike on further up, and ended up joining you in your transportation.
Kai had only been passing by as an air nomad, but offered to take you to the North Pole. What was at first a cool ride, soon turned into a scorching death trap with no overhead protection from the burning sun. Toph had commented it was pathetic that a fire bender would get sunburn so easily, you were in too much pain to reply.
As the climate became increasingly cold the further north you went, you found yourself debating between the discomfort of the cold or the extra layers of fabric against your skin. You changed your mind about which was worse so often that you caught a cold and were nothing but a sniffling pile of misery by the time you reached the North Pole.
You stumbled off the bison, sneezing and sniffling, with a gust of wind from Kai saving you from falling off the animal and cracking your skull. You heard the faint echo of words spoken around you and miserably stumbled after the group, while some attendants carried your bags.
Toph ran off somewhere, muttering something about the freezing cold floor and hopping around with more energy than a woman her age would be expected to have. She returned soon after, dragging you away by the arm, which caused you to yelp as her bony hand pressed the fabric of your sleeve against your tender skin.
The next thing you knew you were being shoved into a room and Toph was pulling off your coat. " I found you a healer," she explained as she tugged on the red clothing underneath.
You actually liked blue better, but your culture insisted that you wore red. "Cold," you tried to bat her hands away, but she was fast.
"Quit whining and let the healer have a look," with one last tug of fabric, the spunky old woman left you in the cold in your under garments.
"I'm freezing!" A moment later the embarrassment also sunk in. At least the healer in question was female, you thought. The situation was marginally less mortifying since you were all girls as far as you knew.
"Well? Heal her?" At Toph's insistence, the girl in blue robes nodded wordlessly.
She was tan, like the water benders from the poles, had long brown hair and bright blue eyes. The water bender called upon some of the ice from the walls, it became water at her command and covered your tender skin. She almost flinched with slight apology as you yelped at the cold sensation, then relaxed into the healing glow.
Your skin was left as good as new, but you were still cold and sick, so you hurried to dress, shivering all the while. "She's a wimpy one, this one, but she has potential," Toph told the healer. "Well, I'm gonna go say hi to Katara, she should be ready to leave by now if my mental calendar doesn't fail me. I guess we'll both catch a ride, it'll be faster than a boat."
You were too sick to comment on the fact that Toph had traveled all that way and now she was leaving along with Katara, apparently on Kai's bison. Your skin felt renewed and the coat was much more comfortable against it, but you were still lightheaded and it was getting dark...
xoxox xox xoxox
"How is your health, visitor from the Fire Nation?" You opened your eyes to a female monotone voice.
"Better," you muttered. You noticed that the one who spoke was the young woman who took care of your sunburn before. "Thank you for the healing. What's your name?" You sat up but remained under the covers, timidly admiring the decorative carvings on the icy palace walls.
"Eska," the girl replied with an expressionless face. "And I did nothing."
"What a coincidence," you smiled, assuming that by did nothing she meant it was no trouble. "The same name as the chief."
"I am the chief," Eska revealed.
You stared at her, your mouth agape. "Chief Eska?! Your highness, I'm so sorry!"
"I see nothing that requires an apology," Eska spoke in that unreadable voice of hers. "Rest and when you have recovered, we will have a diplomatic discussion in preparation for my trip to the Fire Nation. Make sure you drink the healing water." Without waiting for a reply, Eska left the room.
You sighed and laid back in bed, unwilling and maybe unable to leave the warmth of the covers, despite feeling much better. You glanced at the icy nightstand, most things seemed to be made of ice in the castle, and spotted a bottle of shiny liquid. It was beautiful, as if it was meant to be left there as a decoration, undisturbed. You gingerly reached for it and took a zip, it was cool, sweet and soothing. Though you started your trip by making a fool of yourself in front of the local monarch and had her serve you instead of the other way around, maybe the diplomatic disaster could still be salvaged.
A knock on the door interrupted your thoughts and you called for the person to enter. You watched with puzzled curiosity as the icy door slid aside by the power of bending, momentary wondering how heavy it would feel to a non-water bender such as yourself. Yet your mind soon focused on more important matters, such as the fact, the so called fact, that Eska had returned. "Chief Eska?"
She tilted her head in confusion and opened her mouth as if to speak, only to think better of it and close it with a shake of the head. Wordlessly she exited the room and you couldn't help it but to focus on the bizarre occurrence and muse that there was something different about her. You couldn't tell exactly what it was, but for a moment her features seemed almost imperceptibly different and she carried herself with an air that you could only think to describe as tomboyish.
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Chapter 3: Fangirl Vision
You were feeling much better and ready to actually go do your job and assist Eska, instead of being assisted by her staff. 'It's a miracle I haven't been fired.' You were not looking forward to explaining the happenings to the Firelord.
After leaving your room, you went in search of Eska, only to be pulled into a room without warning with a loud exclamation of "she can test it!"
You yelled in surprised and pushed away the man who had shouted the unexpected proclamation. A small flame materialized in the air in front of your hand and you recoiled away from it, even if it had not come into contact with your glove.
"Woah there, I can understand you're excited, but try to contain your enthusiasm!" The man exclaimed. He looked as if he might be from the water tribe, in terms of ethnicity at least, though his enthusiastic behavior and energetic atmosphere seemed better suited for someone who lived in one of those big cities where pro-benders and movers stars thrived. Though he wasn't a bender, that or he wasn't a particularly talented one, you could tell by the lack of fluidness of his movements, as if he was hopping from one place to another, rather than flowing like a current.
A woman whose origin you couldn't quite place sighed in exasperation and adjusted her small glasses. She was another non-bender, you guessed, as benders tended to have strong genetic ties to their nations, which often manifested in identifiable physical traits, though that might become less common as the nations continued to mix. You relaxed, you liked non-benders, they didn't care about your lack of bending skills. The man had startled you, but upon giving him a second look, he seemed harmless enough, just hyper. "What is this about?" You inquired with some degree of curiosity.
"My new invention!" The man exclaimed. He picked up an odd device from a table near by. As he took a moment to admire the odd thing, you couldn't help it but to glance around the room. It was a mess, tools, wires, nuts and bolts were tossed all over the place. This wasn't like the organized chaos of your room back home, this was simply pure chaos. "Try it on!" You were brought back to reality when the man placed the odd contraption in your hands.
"I could test it..." The woman offered.
"No," the man insisted and the woman rolled her eyes in response. The man cleared his throat, as if he himself did not understand the logic behind his behavior. "I mean... You should take a break, Zhu Li," the name sounded somewhat Earth Kingdom to you.
You had always wanted to experience an international environment like Republic City, though you didn't expect to find it here. You poked at the contraption in your hands. It looked like goggles with thick glass and a strange machine framing them. "Are these supposed to be binoculars?"
"These are fangirl vision goggles!" The man exclaimed. "They allow you to see what could be! This will be Valrick Industries' invention of the year!"
"Valrick?" You thought there was something familiar about the strange man. "The one who wrote, directed and produced the Nuktuk movers?"
"The very same! Now put on those goggles and go look at men, then report your findings to me!" Before you could inquire about the possibility of a new season of Nuktuk movers, ask if he could get you Nuktuk's autograph, or voice any other words, he pushed you out of the room, while simultaneously fastening the goggles on your head with two belts on the sides and another on top to support the machine's weight.
You stumbled dizzily before regaining your balance and trying to pull the goggles off, they made everything too wavy and strange, as if you were dreaming. Unfortunately, you couldn't get the belts untangled and Valrick's door was closed, with the sound of random clings and clangs coming from the other side, as work began on some other crazy project.
Telling yourself to endure it in hopes of being rewarded with Nuktuk merchandise, you stumbled down the icy halls, unsure of what you were supposed to do. Valrick said to look at men, did that mean you were responsible for finding a new protagonist for his next mover? Such thoughts were quite exciting, but they soon vanished from your head, along with everything else. Your mental train derailed into a rush of adrenaline, as you found exactly what you were looking for.
You hardly noticed Eska's presence, for you could only focus on the man next to her. You didn't even take a moment to wonder if he was cold walking around in nothing but shorts, you just stared. You took in everything from his well toned body, six pack included, and smooth bronze skin, to his soft brown hair and deep blue eyes that threatened to give you a heart attack there and then.
The pair turned towards you, with Eska commenting, "it seems you are still not well, your face is red with a fever."
"Perhaps you should not volunteer to assist Valrick in these conditions." The man added, while you could only smile like an idiot. It was clear to him that the contraption on your face was from Valrick, but he didn't know what it did. The business tycoon and his crew had arrived while you were bedridden accompanying Bolin, whose presence in the North Pole you were unaware of, in a tour to promote Valrick Industries.
"She might be in a worse state of health than before, she seems to have been reduced to a completely unresponsive state," Eska commented. "My water bending is better suited for combat," she hinted.
The handsome man nodded, "I will make sure no harm comes to the Fire Nation diplomat." You weren't sure if it was the excitement, or if the goggles messing with your vision and squeezing your head were to blame, but you really did faint.
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Chapter 4: Pyrotechnics
When you woke up, you were no longer wearing the oversized goggles and the world no longer looked like a dreamy haze. Your consciousness connected with your memories and you sat up on your bed, you had been carried to your room. You spotted Eska next to your bed, which was odd considering she claimed to be better at combat. You thought she was a very skilled healer, though she was no doubt a strong fighter as well. "Eska?"
The water bender let out a frustrated breath. Though no words were spoken by the monarch, you thought she sounded kind of rough, as if that breath belonged to a deeper voice than hers. You immediately attributed it to anger and apologized. "I'm so sorry, chief Eska. I'm supposed to be helping out, assisting and being diplomatic, but I've been nothing but a burden." You could feel tears in your eyes as it hit you that you were making your nation look terrible. This wasn't just an impression of yourself, it was representative of your whole nation.
Eska stood without a word. You could still see some annoyance in her eyes, which were devoid of her usual eye shadow, making them look less fem... er, angular. Yet the look softened as she reached out and patted your shoulder in reassurance. She smiled, then left without a word.
You interpreted that she had forgiven you, but you still felt bad. You resolved to do everything perfectly from this point on, with no distractions.
xoxox xox xoxox
After you were sure you could leave your room without making a fool of yourself again, you did. Upon searching for Eska to ask if there was anything you could do for her, you instead found Valrick. You froze and considered running back to your room, but he spotted you before you could escape and it would be rude to openly run away.
"Ah, there you are," Valrick approached, the young man he had been speaking to before walking beside him. "This is the lady I was telling you about, the one that will discover the next movers star if you don't hurry up and sign a contract for a Nuktuk sequel!"
Albeit you were determined not to be distracted, you couldn't help it and asked. "Are you Nuktuk's agent?" The young man with green eyes was handsome enough to be an actor himself, and there was something familiar about him.
"Um, no," Bolin blinked, actually surprised. "I am Nuktuk."
You laughed, "of course you are. Nuktuk is a water bender, he's tan and has blue eyes and walks around shirtless to please his fans." He used to be a pro-bender, you read in a magazine, though you were never into pro-bending for personal reasons, thus the details eluded you.
Bolin just stared in shock, as if he didn't know how to react, his jaw ajar. Valrick nodded, taking mental notes of everything you said. "Right, right, the next movers star should walk around shirtless to please the fangirls, makes sense. It's decided, it's time to move on. Next time I'm casting a water bender as a fire bender!"
Zhu Li approached the group at the hallway and announced, "everything has been loaded onto the ship."
Bolin took that as his cue and headed out of the palace towards the port, muttering "I'm a has been." The whole way.
"Thank you, Zhu Li," Valrick cheerfully replied, letting Bolin go about his business, mind occupied in other matters. "You're the best wife a man could ask for."
"I also made tea," she added. Valrick hugged his wife and pulled her into a kiss, though he ended up being swept off his feet and held at an angle while they both melted into the embrace.
Looking past the PDA you mused about how you never understood some men's fascination with tea. The now retired Firelord Zuko loved it, a habit he picked up from his uncle Iroh, after whom his grandson was named. The legacy of Iroh's tea was still strong and some said that a man wasn't a man if he didn't know his tea. Women drank tea as well, but to them it was just a beverage.
Honestly, there was nothing inherently manly about a cup of tea, though that was just your opinion. You heard they used to market little tea sets as toys for girls decades ago, but despite tea being a unisex drink, you were doubtful about that. Tea parties were such a stereotypical boy thing, not that it was in any way wrong for girls to have them, it just wasn't as common.
The loving embrace ended and Zhu Li cleared her throat. "We apologize the fangirl goggles made you ill," she elbowed her husband.
"Yes, sorry about that," Valrick recited, before continuing with genuine interest. "Before we head out to Republic City, let me ask, did you observe anything peculiar while wearing the goggles?"
Your face turned scarlet at the memory. You could hardly find your voice, but the man you saw needed to be in a mover, such perfection couldn't be hidden from the world. "There was a man, he was walking with chief Eska. I don't know his name but... He was... He looked like he could totally be a movers star!"
"Could be," Valrick mused, rubbing his chin in thought. "Could be," he repeated as if the condition was critical. "Zhu Li, let's do the thing!"
"Alright, I'll have our things unloaded and have the ship continue the tour without us," the woman agreed. You couldn't help it but to stare. What just happened? When was this decided? Was she a mind reader?
What exactly was decided anyway? What was making them stay? "The thing?"
"Yes, you can be a part of it too," Valrick sounded as if he was doing you a favor, or maybe more so bestowing a great honor upon you.
The alarms in your head went off. "I don't think I should be getting involved. I mean, I have a job to do and I'm already so behind!" Far more behind than you thought, as you realized you still didn't know the specifics of your job.
"You're doing the diplomatic thing with Eska and Desna, just do more of it with Desna." Valrick resolved, in an explanation that left your head spinning.
"Huh?" You stared in perplexity.
"Desna, Eska's brother, he must have been the man you saw walking with her, or rather a version of him," Valrick explained.
You weren't sure what he meant by a version, but the image of that perfect man was too distracting in your memories. "He did look like he was from the water tribe."
"Exactly, which is why we're going to make his character a fire bender, gotta bring out his acting potential, Nuktuk was an earth bender after all. You didn't even recognized him a while ago." Valrick continued talking about his project and discussing plot ideas, but it was all list to you.
That was Nuktuk? The real deal? You tried to imagine him in black and white, without the tan, or the brown hair, or the blue eyes that water benders from the poles often had. The basic shape was there, the hair style was there, the facial features were... mostly there. The nose looked bigger in person, but movers stars were known to wear make-up on the set, even the men, so the slightly smaller nose on the screen could be attributed to that.
"Nuktuk..." You kept muttering the word repeatedly in a soft whisper under your breath, mentally kicking yourself for your missed opportunity. You considered running out of the palace and into the port, right into the ship, but Zhu Li's approach directing a multitude of hired servants carrying various supplies could only mean the ship had sailed.
You remained unresponsive throughout Valrick's speech until the very end when he spelled out your doom, "and you'll be in charge of the pyrotechnics!"
"What?!" You shouted in shock, all color drained from your face.
"That's movers speak for fire effects," Valrick calmly but excitedly explained. He walked off to tell Zhu Li about his plot ideas, mentioning something about how fortunate it was that they happened to have a fire bender in hand, as if you were part of the supplies.
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Chapter 5: Illusions
You had to find Eska, you had to get her to assign you a job. You desperately needed to look busy, feel busy and just be busy. You shuddered at the thought of having to firebend. Lack of practice due to trauma fueled fear made you a mediocre bender at best and combined with your inevitable nervousness it would be a recipe for disaster. Your only escape, without appearing to be rude, uncooperative, or revealing your lack of talent, was to become so occupied in more important official matters, that you couldn't possibly find the time to assist Valrick.
After inquiring of the guards, you were directed towards an ice garden at the back of the palace courtyard. You looked around in wonderment at the detailed ice sculptures of flowers. Elegantly carved pillars stood with icy vines wrapped around them. The most impressive part was that unlike the silvery white palace, the garden was filled with color.
The water had been tinted with various shades before being crafted into ice by skillful water benders. You admired the detailed red roses tempted to remove your thick gloves to touch them, though you knew it was a bad idea. The cold would be very unpleasant against your bare skin and you didn't want to break any of the ice flowers.
The sound of an echoing voice nearby caught your attention and you approached the structure at the other side of the garden. It was similar to a hedge maze, except it was made of ice. They must have put some metallic particles in the ice or something, because it was far too reflective, like mirrors.
You didn't want to get lost in the icy mirror maze, but the voice sounded close, a gentle female monotone. "If you want to participate in the mover, I will support you, just as I did when you expressed interest in learning healing techniques."
You hurried to catch up with whom you assumed to be Eska and called out to her. "Chief Eska!" You stopped a few feet inside the maze. Mirrors reflected mirrors and it was very confusing. You saw Eska, but you didn't know which one was real. Oddly, there seemed to be twice as many reflections of Eska as there were of you, and some of them seemed different from each other, though it was hard to say why.
Seeing your helplessness Eska approached, her reflections moving in pairs, as if there were two of her. "Is there something that you require?"
"Um... Actually..." You looked down in embarrassment, ashamed at the job you had done thus far. This prevented you from further observing the odd phenomenon of the mirrors that reflected Eska twice as many times as you. "I was hoping I could do something for you."
There was a pause, as if the water princess was considering what to say. Then she came up with something you were not happy to hear. "Assist in the process of the mover."
That was it, you received a direct order from the person you were supposed to be assisting. You couldn't very well refuse, it was your job to be useful to Eska and you did feel bad that you had been taken care of but were yet to give anything in return. "Yes, princess," you replied sadly.
"You may call me Eska," the chief voiced. You didn't lift your head and didn't question it when she said, "you may call my brother Desna. You will be assisting him as well, if he decides to partake in the mover."
"I will do my best," you nervously replied. "I will prepare immediately, excuse me," you bowed, though you hadn't lifted your head in the first place. Though Eska just basically asked you to drop the formalities, this was the only way you could think of to hide your panicked expression.
You hurried out of the maze, which wasn't too bad since you had only walked in a short way, not quite enough to get lost, though you were sure you would get lost if you went any further. Glancing back at the structure, it seemed that Eska had continued her stroll. Who was she talking to before? She was alone as far as you could tell. Maybe she was practicing what she intended to tell someone, her voice echoing off the walls and helping her measure her words. You supposed it wasn't all that strange if she wanted to say things just right. She mentioned the mover, maybe she was practicing what she would say to her brother.
The selfish part of you hoped Desna would refuse Valrick's offer, whatever it might be. At least then maybe you'd be off the hook as the pyrotechnician. You thought of Desna and wondered when you would see him again. You had only met him once, as far as you knew, when you were wearing the goggles that made your vision wavy. He certainly looked handsome enough for a mover but that would only mean you had the opportunity to embarrass yourself in front of the next mover star.
You sighed hopelessly as you made your way back inside the palace en route to Valrick's lab.
"You okay, pretty lady." You gave the question no mind, you didn't think it was directed at you. Then one of the guards stood in front of you, making it impossible to ignore him. "Lost in thought, beautiful?"
You looked around confused, "me?"
He grinned and a rush of heat washed over you. He was handsome, quite a bit taller than you, his hair was in a short ponytail, shaved at the sides in a more southern warrior style. It was different from the long haired half ponytails that northern water tribe men had come to favor, but it suited him. Yet the heat wasn't a blush rushing to your cheeks, it was an alarming kind of heat. It was as if your body had decided of its own accord that you were in danger and had to fight.
It was stupid, you mentally chastised yourself. You were in no danger, you were inside the palace, with a guard right in front of you. You shifted uncomfortably, "sorry... I..." Your fingertips tingled and you tried to hold it back. Your natural element wanted to manifest itself and you couldn't allow it.
"A bit shy? Oh pardon me miss diplomat. Far be it for this humble warrior to overstep his place," he bowed, a hand over his heart. He slightly looked at you, now closer to eye level since he was bent over. His eyes were such a pale blue, almost silver. His hair was a dark brown and his skin a perfect bronze.
"It's nice to meet you..." You tried to calm your wildly beating heart, refusing to allow a single spark of fire to manifest.
"Kalok," he supplied with a seductive tone that was almost lost to you in your stress.
At least you managed you give him your name, which he already seemed to be aware of anyway, but in your defense you could say that you weren't used to being recognized. "I must be going..." You clenched your fists and wondered what you looked like to him, shifting your weight nervously.
"Of course, I hope we can speak again during your stay here." Kalok moved aside, allowing you to pass.
You scurried away, feeling your out of control bending starting to settle down. Kalok probably assumed you needed to go to the bathroom, badly.
To be Continued
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