Chapter 57.2- And so the Dragons Danced

“Your royal highness” her principal said, dropping down to his knees once it became clear that they were the ones the Emperor was walking towards. She did not need him to look at hr to know that she should be. Mirroring his movements, but she felt frozen. To have those black eyes focused on her the way they were was something else.. it took her more time than it should’ve to rip her gaze from his and drop into a deep curtsy just like her mother had taught her.

“Please rise, I came to speak to Miss Skullcrusher here” Now, she had no choice but to blush. That was such a silly name, she thought to herself. Who even let seven year olds pick their own last names? A psychopath, that’s who. The Emperor’s eyes narrowed in her direction and she remembered all that she had been told in preparation for if today ever happened. He could read minds, never think a negative thought in his presence. She turned her mind towards other things almost instantly— like how the Emperor’s second wife had passed this year and people insisted that he was on the hunt for a new one.

“Yes, your highness. She is all yours” Her Principal did not even take a second to consider sticking around to try protecting her or anything. Well, it wasn’t like anyone could protect her from Natsu Wu of all people.

“Walk with me, Korra” He said, stretching is hand towards her and she felt something in her mind. His voice was familiar in a way it should not have been. Why was it so familiar.

“Yes, your highness” She curtsied again before she put her arm in the crook of his elbow ad allowed him to lead her around the hall, hearing straight to the dance floor. She flushed as she felt stares be directed in her direction. She was no stranger to being whispered about, but this was a different sort of thing. She wasn’t being whispered about by Deska and her cronies or anything, but by the Empire’s Elite. Even Uncle Unalaq, Imperial Advisor on Spiritual Affairs was giving them a look out of the corner of his eyes.

His expression was blank, but that was as much a trick as anything. She still remembered the fury on father’s face and the placid acceptance on his as they argued after he had almost drowned her the first time.

“How do you find the Imperial Palace?” She did a double take when she realised she was the one he was talking to.

“It’s beautiful” She said, lying through her teeth. This was not what beauty looked like to her. Beauty was nature, tall trees, lush gardens, ice caps, that kind of thing. Not this behemoth of stone and steel that acted as a testament to the Empire’s power. It stood in the centre of Natsu’s Rising, the city formerly known as Ba Sing Se but converted into the heart of the Empire— its capital city.