Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra and I do not claim so.

Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my fanfiction. It makes me really glad, that you have chosen to click in this particular link and I hope you won't be disappointed with the story I have to present.

Three things, before you start reading. First, this is a rewriting of Korra's book one, but the AU is strong in this one. For starters, around half of the characters from original is gone, for various reasons. Be prepared.

Second, story is rated T and this is mostly due to violence that will occur during fights as the story progresses. There will also be swearing and nudity may happen. However, there will not be any graphic depictions of death or mutilation and sex scenes, if they even happen, won't go much away from "and then they made love with each other."

Third, English is not my native language and I have never learned writing. Thus, as much as I would like my style to be book-like, I will probably fail to deliver something that ambitious. My apologies for misusing words, punctuation errors and any mistake in basic grammar, that I will overlook.

With that out of the way, please enjoy the story!

Chapter 1: 'Off she goes!' (part 1)

The weather was perfect on the South Pole this summer. Sun has disappeared behind clouds maybe three times throughout the last month and lack of fresh snow made lives of White Lotus' guards, protecting Avatar's training facility, so much easier.

A flock of penguin albatrosses came flying from the direction of the ocean, infallibly sensing approaching meal in humans' dwelling. And leftovers of fish and bread, that cooks will inevitably throw away while preparing it. Normally they would have avoided training ground in the heart of complex, but this time eastern winds made them divert in its direction.

A ball of fire tore through the flock, causing panic amongst the birds. One of them fell down, with its wing burning, and rest spread out, trying to avoid next missiles. But they never came.

"Cease!" commanding voice cut through the air.

Korra stopped moving in the middle of changing stances, almost losing her balance. Somehow she managed to regain it and stood stably on two feet. She turned furiously in the direction, which the order came from.

Under silk shelter, protecting her skin from the sun, sat an old woman, with her back ideally upright in her throne-like armchair. She had her long, grey hair tied up in a traditional Fire Nation's bun, golden eyes and was wearing a white robe, with a red flame embroidered on the front. Her wrinkled face grimaced in discontent. She waved her hand on Korra in kingly manner, ordering her to come closer, what the girl has reluctantly done.

"Why have you not suppressed your flames, when you have spotted birds?" asked Honna, the Avatar's firebending master, with a stern tone.

"I didn't have time," Korra could hardly keep irritation from showing in her voice.

"You 'didn't have time' ?" Honna raised her eyebrows astonished with that lackluster answer. "And were you to hurt somebody with your fire, even by pure accident, would you also say that you 'didn't have time'?"

It took all of Korra's patience not to snap at Honna rudely, knowing that it would only make old woman angry at her, and that she could not afford to attract masters' attention today. She bowed deeply with her hands folded.

"No master, I would not. It was a mistake and I will try not to make it again," Korra answered politely.

This was enough to make old woman somewhat content and she waved her hand, giving the Avatar sign to start exercise again. The man standing silently behind her "throne" smiled at Korra comfortingly, making her heart beat a little bit faster. Shailesh - that was his name - was medium-height and slim, with black, shoulder-length hair. His face was always shaved and so lively, that even his worst enemies wouldn't tell, that he had more than thirty years. In fact, however, he was in his mid-forties, looking unfairly young for his age. And he had gorgeous eyes - deep green with yellow inner ring that looked like the sun. Korra loved looking into them, though she would rather die than admit it.

This charming earthbending master served as a mediator whenever argument broke out between his two elderly coworkers or between them and the Avatar, so he was pleased, that Korra didn't start one. Katara, the waterbending master, who also standing silently next to Honna up to now, moved in the direction of the injured bird. It fell into the snowdrift to her right and she took it on her left hand, melting some snow in right. With a gentle move of palm she bent a little bit of water and started healing bird.

Korra suddenly felt guilty about poor animal and focused on her training to detract her thoughts from bird. She moved back to the center of the a stone square and assumed the form of Dragon. On Honna's sign Korra began the exercise again. She took a deep breath and started to move her hands and legs fluently, changing to new positions in the familiar pattern. When her body entered the specific, firebending rhythm, first sparks started to appear. Soon the air was filled with fiery balls, lances and whips surrounding the Avatar with imposing storm of flames. Korra started to move increasingly faster, skipping little intricacies, that she could not force herself to focus on now. She knew that Honna will scold her for that later, but she didn't concern herself with that right now – repeating the sequence for thirtieth time this day, she was seriously fed up with firebending.

When her half dance, half pantomime of fight was slowly finishing, her moves became more strict and aggressive, as she was going through complicated forms of lightningbending.

"Last move," she thought to herself. "Please work out."

It, whatever it was, didn't listen. She entered Cobralisk form, with her body low, left hand behind back and the right one stretched forward with only two fingers straight. But instead of lighting only a small, chaotic blast of yellow fire appeared.

"Fuck!"

Korra groaned out loud with frustration. It was like that every time - she tried and she failed. Miserably. Something prevented the Avatar from mastering lightningbending and it made her incredibly frustrated. Now Honna was going to lecture her about lack of wrists movements or something like this and then she will come to the conclusion, that girl was failing exercise because of some spiritual stuff. Again.

She knew it was coming. In fact, elderly woman was already opening her mouth, when loud sound of ringing bell interrupted her, marking the end of the lesson.

"Safe!" Korra smiled internally, looking at rather displeased expression on master's face, when she gave the girl sign, that she can leave.

Three pairs of eyes watched her, as she directed to her house in the western part of the complex. Masters remained silent for a few seconds, until Katara threw her arms up, releasing still a little unkempt, but fully healed bird.

"What were you trying to achieve, forcing her to repeat this so many times?" she asked.

"Whatever, really," Honna rose from her chair and walked to the center of a square.

She started re-creating the Avatars movements, ideally copying even the smallest of her mistakes. Shailesh held his breath, as always admiring pure mastery of the elderly woman, that has lost very little from her grace, even though she was almost two times older than him.

When Honna finished, blueish lightning shot from tips of her fingers, its thunder echoing throughout complex. She kept Cobralisk pose for a few more seconds and then rose.

"Yay, you can lightningbend. We kinda knew it already," Katara wasn't even trying to suppress her sarcasm.

"You know, what I wanted to show you," Firebender looked at her admonitory. "She has mastered physical aspect of bending, but not spiritual. It is the sole reason, she cannot bend lightning. Or heal, for that matter."

Katara was opening her mouth to answer, but Shailesh put a hand on her arm.

"Ladies, please," he lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "It is the last day, it doesn't make sense to argue anymore."

Two women looked at each other and then at him and nodded their heads in unison. With the argument avoided, three masters headed towards dining room in the largest building in the complex. They were always coming for meals earlier, since they wanted to sit at their favorite table. Not that anyone would actually dare to take it.

Korra was lying in her bed breathing deeply and slowly. Normally, she would be absolutely furious after firebending lessons, that have lately consisted mostly of repeating the same exercise over and over again, but today was special. Today she had to be perfect Avatar-apprentice, not to attract masters' attention. Today she had to pull through this borderline torture without a word of complaint and today she needed to eat supper normally. Because today she was escaping.

She took a very deep breath , trying to not think about a leather sack, with her clothes packed, hidden in the wooden wardrobe, that stood next to the door. She needed to calm her racing heart, knowing that all three masters could feel her excitement with their bendings.

Korra meditated over half an hour and when the bell rang, signaling supper, she was ready for one final act.

Continued in part 2...