Chapter One

Author's Note: I have also uploaded this story on my Wattpad account.

The sun's light shone upon the icy environment of the North Pole casting upon it a blinding glare to people who were unused to the place.

It was lucky that all the residents of the North Pole were natives so their eyes have adjusted to these circumstances.

Despite the sun's light, the temperature was biting cold as it had been for as long as humans could remember. Still, the people of the North have adapted well.

Within the palace of the Northern Water Tribe a pair of twins sat upon the throne. They shared similar facial features down to their monotonous look.

"Brother, why does it seem so boring after our return?" Eska, the female, asked in her usual monotonous tone.

Her brother Desna, whom people could only differentiate from her from his lack of makeup, replied in his equally monotonous voice, "Indeed, sister. I share your sentiment. Perhaps it is because of our frequent contact with that earth bender Bolin."

Upon hearing her brother mention the name, Eska blanked out for a few seconds, an action that Desna did not miss.

"You still have feelings for him, don't you?"

"It would be a lie to say that I do not. Bolin would forever hold a place within the organ that pumps my blood. He will always, to me, be my feeble turtle-duck," Eska said, her monotonous tone showing signs of fluctuation.

Desna showed a rare smile. He said, "If you feel for him, why did you not accept his offer? As your brother, I would be happy to see you achieve your happiness with your loved one, as stupid as he may seem to be."

"Alas, Desna, I cannot leave my homeland for a selfish reason such as finding my own happiness," Eska sighed sadly.

"Then do you think that you would continue your relationship with him if he stayed here in the North Pole with you?"

"Of course!" Eska shouted, the idea exciting her. Then she calmed herself down and resumed her usual aloof demeanor. "Sadly it does not seem that we are meant to be."

"Why? Do you think that he will not be willing to sacrifice and live here to be with you?" Desna found the idea of Bolin not willing to sacrifice for his sister preposterous.

"No. I am sure he would. Unfortunately I know how he feels about spending icy bliss with me. Although he would sacrifice for me, in the end it would be like slowly killing him. And although I may be harsh to him, I cannot bear to see my feeble turtle duck die slowly from the inside."

Desna thought about it for a moment and he too came to the same conclusion if he was faced with a situation where he had a lover who was not a native of the North Pole.

"Enough of this chatter. You are making me sad," Eska said, her heart feeling like it was being stabbed by a knife, although her voice and her face remained monotonous. "We need to talk about our people."

"Oh, yes. The pathetic ignobles seem to be protesting about something."

"It seems that they are not satisfied with our rule."

"I heard that they feel ashamed at losing the civil war. They think that because we almost had victory at hand, we should rally again and complete the lost cause."

Eska scoffed. "Foolish low-lives. They do not understand that with the loss of our father, the Northern Water Tribe has lost half of its fighting capacity."

Desna sighed. "That they do not. Which is why they are protesting. Soon it will escalate into civil unrest and these peaceful protests will turn into violent rallies."

"Let us resolve this," Eska said, thinking that perhaps by concentrating her efforts in quelling a potential rebellion in the North would make her forget about Bolin easier. "Oh, Bolin..." she thought.

The acrid smell of burning wafted through the air as the distinct sound of a picture being taken resounded out through everyone's ears.

The warm feeling of flesh in his hands told Bolin that he was holding his co-star Ginger's waist during another press conference. Externally there was a huge smile plastered on his face, but internally he groaned.

"Bolin and Ginger, with Varrick missing, many companies have taken over the mover industry. Do both of you have any plans on contracting yourselves to any of the multitude of mover companies popping out?"

"Bolin, are you and Ginger really dating? If so, when do you plan to get married?"

"Ginger, we heard that you are keen to take on another role."

"Bolin!"

"Ginger!"

"Bolin, we heard that you were once engaged to a Northern Water Tribe princess. Is this true?"

One of the iron clad guards, seeing that the situation was getting out of control, stepped up and shooed the crowd away. He said, "Alright, that's it for the interviews today, folks."

He ushered Bolin and Ginger away into the building and Bolin could only be too happy to comply.

As soon as they entered, they were led into a quiet room where they were left alone together.

Ginger sat down upon the bed and said, "Bolin, darling, is what that reporter said just now true?"

Bolin thought that Ginger had annoyed him so much that she could not possibly annoy him more, but hearing her high-pitched voice proved him wrong. Her voice, to him, sounded like chalk squeaking on blackboard. He knit his brows. "Ginger, first of all, I told you that we're not a couple. And secondly, my relationship with Eska is none of your business."

Ginger made a dismissing gesture with a flick of her wrist, started lighting a cigarette and said, "Nonsense. I remember clearly when you were asked me to be your girlfriend. And it is my business. So Eska's her name, huh?"

"Rrrrargh! That was a joke when I asked you out before! Okay? I'm sorry, but I simply don't like you," Bolin cried while tearing at his hair in the process. He blamed his big mouth but the damage has been done and it was too late for regrets now.

Ginger seemed to be losing her patience too for her high-pitched voice dropped by a couple of octaves as she said in a threatening voice, "A joke? There were many press witnesses when you confessed. And you also stole a kiss from me. I could sue you for sexual harassment so I'd like to see you try breaking up with me."

"What do you want?!"

Ginger shrugged. "Simple. I want you to sign a contract to work with me for ten movers. You will split your income with me eighty-twenty. Eighty to my favour. After that, we can go our separate ways, capiche?"

"That's extortion!" Bolin protested.

"Hey, do you want me to let you go or not?"

Bolin sighed. He had no choice. He didn't want to ruin his reputation. "Five movers."

"Eight."

"No. Five - and that's final."

Ginger thought a bit. It took a while and Bolin was getting impatient. Finally she said, "I don't know, Bolin. With five, I want an 85-15 cut my way."

"DEAL!"

Ginger giggled menacingly as she walked over and traced circles around Bolin's chest. "Smart choice... Nuktuk." She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek, her voice going back to its usual high-pitch. She hoisted him up to a standing position and hooked her arms around his.

"What are you doing?" Bolin asked.

"Well, while we're in this agreement, we should at least try to act like a couple."

"What? No. NO! I'm fine walking alone," Bolin complained.

"Oh, come on. Do it for the press. They love a good gossip," Ginger argued. "And besides, it's only for five more movers. You're good at acting, aren't you? At least try to act the part of a good boyfriend."

Bolin didn't know whether he wanted to slap Ginger or himself.

Somewhere along the coast, Asami Sato stared at the sea, her mind chaotic with turmoil. She heaved a big sigh and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath, inhaling in the salty smell of the sea.

She was the President of Future Industries now so she was tired from being too busy running around trying to direct everything. She had just gotten through the crisis of her company almost becoming bankrupt so she thought she would have more time to sort out her feelings but it seems like not everything was destined to go smoothly.

Now she had to deal with shareholders trying to take over her father's company.

She got frustrated just even thinking about it. She was angry that they all seemed to disappear when the company went downhill, but now that her company is back and doing better than ever, they seemed to be coming back in droves and all demanding to have a piece of the pie.

"I guess this is for the best," she consoled herself. "Maybe all this will keep me busy enough to not think about Mako and Korra's actions."

She was deeply saddened by Mako's betrayal by cheating on her once with Korra, but she let that pass and had forgiven him. She had even forgiven Korra for making advances on her boyfriend back then.

However, when Mako broke up with Korra, her and Mako started to rekindle their feelings for each other and started going out again, but their relationship once again came to an abrupt end when Mako again cheated on her with Korra.

She didn't know what to think. Once was already not fine, but she could forgive that. But twice? She should have known that if they could have done it once, they could do it twice or even three times!

She wondered if it was Korra's fault for seducing Mako or if it was Mako's fault for being weak-willed. She couldn't decide so she tried to push away the thoughts from her mind.

The seagulls cried and the sound of waves crashing against the rocks created an ambient atmosphere for her to relax.

Suddenly a familiar voice called out from behind her.

"Having trouble, dear?"

"Pema!" Asami recognised the voice as soon as she heard it. She turned around and sure enough, facing her was Tenzin's wife wearing the trademark yellow-orange and red robes of an Air Nomad acolyte. "What brings you here?" Asami asked.

"I had to go to the market and buy more vegetables. With the addition of Korra, Bumi and Kya, along with the frequent visitors, our homegrown produce seem to be insufficient."

Asami's eyes looked down on the ground. She was ashamed. She said, "Sorry, Pema. We didn't mean to be imposing."

"What?" Pema laughed. "No, no! I didn't mean it that way. In fact, we're glad to have you guys around. It's just that we need to grow more vegetables for everybody - which is fine - but it will take a few more months before they fully mature. So, here I am, doing the groceries."

Asami smiled. Pema had a way with words. She asked, "Do you want some help?"

Pema returned the smile. "Why, certainly. If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't."

Asami helped Pema with her grocery bags and walked with her to the pier.

"Where's Oogie?"

"Tenzin took him to commute to the council. Whenever he does, I have to take the ferry to Air Temple Island."

"You don't mind?"

"Of course, I don't mind, dear. If I rode on Oogie's back every time I needed to go out, I would barely walk and get exercise," Pema laughed.

"That does make sense," Asami smiled.

They didn't have to wait long for the boat to arrive. The other acolytes that were with Pema quickly loaded the goods to the ship and then helped them both with their groceries as well. So, during the boat ride, Pema and Asami had a worry-free chat.

Pema asked, "You seemed so down back there, Asami. Is there anything wrong?"

"It's nothing, Pema. At least nothing you should be worrying about. Just some love issues."

Pema clapped her hands together and she seemed to become invigorated all of a sudden. She said enthusiastically, "Ooh, I like these sort of things! It seems only like yesterday when I was your age and dealing with relationship issues myself! Don't hold yourself back, dear. Maybe I can give you some advice."

Asami thought about it for a moment and decided maybe she did need some advice from someone older. Someone who had more experience. So she related her tale to Pema during the rest of the boat ride.

At the end of it all, Pema seemed to be in deep thought. She said, "Hmm... that is a difficult situation. I knew Korra was hot-headed, but I didn't know that she would steal someone else's boyfriend... twice."

"Pema, I don't think it's just Korra though. Mako has a part to play in this as well, which is why I'm so confused."

Pema reassured her by saying, "It takes two hands to clap, you're right. But I would say that the root of this problem is Korra."

The boat had finally hit the dock of Air Temple Island so their conversation was cut short, but Pema reassured Asami that she would think about it over and give her her advice the next time they meet each other.

"Thank you, Pema. I'm sorry to get you involved in this."

"Not at all, dear. I hope I'll see you soon," she bowed slightly out of courtesy, one which Asami returned then she went to tend to her children.

End of Chapter One

To be continued...