The Prodigy: By Blood

Chapter Three: The Arena

I didn't join the others for dinner. All the rage and heart break returned as soon as I stormed out of the yard. I couldn't look at him again and if I did, I'd remember how it felt to lose him. How I missed him. I couldn't let that distract me from my purpose here.
Korra, however, joined me for dinner in our room.

"What a dick!" She exclaims as I tell her what Iroh had said to me. She's right, why should I address the situation when he's clearly the one who needs to be reminded of those months. I nod in agreement. "I mean, if it were me, I'd give him a cold surprise in his sleep." I shake my head as I chew. I swallow, "No-no, Korra! We aren't freezing his heart. Remember last time?"

"Yeah...Ugh! I can't believe Katara put us in a time out! He deserved it! Men just always have to burden our otherwise happy and joyous lives with their complaining." Korra dramatically falls back on the carpet. I nod, "So sensitive."

I lay down next to her. We can see the starry sky from the window. There's a chilly spring breeze in the air and the smell of warm soup from Pema's kitchen down the hall. I close my eyes to enjoy the peace, for it may all falter when we least expect it to.

A scratchy sound appears and suddenly a voice. A man. On the radio. "...The Fire Ferrets vs. The Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps..."

Korra sits up a smile tugging at her lips. Pro bending. If Korra weren't the avatar, she'd be a pro bender. She loves competing, especially when she wins.
"We need to see this match, I have to go ask Tenzin!" She gets up in a single jump. She slides the door to the side, aggressively. Iroh. In the doorway. Ready to knock.

Korra scoffs in his face, "What do you want?"
Iroh's posture is straight, strong, confident. However, his face is a different story. "I'd like to talk to Ara." His amber eyes quickly meet my green ones. He then averts his gaze back to Korra.

"Nope." Korra slides the door shut. I drop my jaw. "Korra, you can't just do that." I say as I pull off my jeans and grab my purple sweat set. "We were just talking about how big of a dick he was earlier." She says, loudly. Once I'm all changed I move to the door.

"Korra, if I know Iroh, he's still waiting out there and can most definitely hear everything we're saying." I don't care much for him, but it's kind of embarrassing that your biggest rival knows you don't much care for them.

"Go ask Tenzin if we can leave to watch the match that starts in 53 minutes and I'll speak with Iroh." I propose an alternative to just ignoring the man.
Korra nods and slides open the door. Before walking away she signals to Iroh that she has her eyes on him.

He puts his hands up in a sign of innocence and she continues down the hall. Iroh turns to me. I meet his burning gaze and my blood boils.

I'm beyond angry. What he said was inexcusable and he just passed all those months off as a little nook in his life. As if what happened didn't mean anything to him that we-

I shut out the thoughts. I widen my eyes waiting for his apology. He sighs my name and asks to enter the room. I step aside and he makes his way to my bed.

He takes a seat, "What I said, Ara, I-I didn't mean-"
I cross my arms. "I didn't even want to bring up the...somewhat strange situation we're in. But by all means, Your Highness, if it means so much to you, go ahead."

He furrows his brows, "What?"
"Apologise." I say.
He huffs a laugh and stands up, towering over me. "And why would I do that, Li?" I scoff and hold his gaze, mine fiercer than his.
"Because I deserve it."

"For what, Princess?! Please, indulge me!" He steps back, his blood boiling like my own. For what? He's gotta be fucking with me.
"For leaving me!" I yell back at him, standing my ground.