Dragonfire | Mako

PROLOGUE

Calming, deep breaths. In and out. Inhale, exhale. She had her eyes closed, her senses alert. She could see nothing but at the same time, she could see everything.

The sky above her was clear without a single cloud, the sun falling on her, showering her whole. She could feel its pull, its power, even though it was far away. With the sun at its peak, she could feel the power inside her shimmering, ready to burst whenever she wanted to. The wind was blowing to the west, moving part of her hair in front of her face and even if she wanted to, she didn't attempt to push it away. She remained still, her eyes closed, and listened.

People were moving around her, slow footsteps circling her as if she were their prey, quiet so as to not scare her away. She could hear three people moving around her until she was completely surrounded. But she wasn't afraid.

Her eyes slowly opened, flames dancing within as if each pupil was a little sun threatening to burst. Short, dark strands of hair fell in front of her eyes and slowly, her pale lips pulled into a smirk, her eyes moved from one side to the other. And she attacked.

Fire burst from her palms as she made a backwards flip, avoiding the flames her three opponents sent her way just barely before she launched her own attack. Her flames moved as if they were a wave of inferno, completely at her control. Her opponents jumped and she raised her arms, the wave of fire rising with them, threatening to burn them to a crisp. They prevailed, fire on their feet propelled them over her wave, and with pursed lips, she let her flames get extinguished as she fell back, at the ready. Her opponents stopped in front of her and she took a moment to look at them closely, taking in a deep breath as she calmed herself down.

They attacked. The true fight began.

She evaded any flame they sent her way, moving in an agile manner so as to avoid all of their attacks. Whenever she got an opening she fought back, her lips pursed, her gaze permanently hardened into a glare. Despite the fact it was three against one, the battle was an even one. Until her opponents started to work together.

She barely managed to evade their next attack as they kicked and punched, flames erupting from their feet and knuckles. She just had the time to avoid being grabbed by a whip of fire before they sent a wave at her. She couldn't get away.

Her eyes widened and she focused on her feet, knowing the only way she would be able to get away from this flame at command was by propelling herself with fire. No matter how much she tried, though, her feet stayed at the ground, like they always did when she tried to propel herself. The wave of fire was coming closer and closer and her eyes widened, a frightened glint in her eyes as she could feel the heat heading straight at her. Her instincts kicked in.

A yell of frustration escaped her lips as she slashed a hand, the flames cutting in half at her will. She gritted her teeth, her stance lowered as she moved her hands in a circle around her and then moved them forward, her fingers touching. She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, she could hear the crackling of lighting-

"Princess Kaida!"

At once, her eyes opened, the lightning was lost and her hands fell to her sides, her head hanging low. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her opponents moving away and another pair of footsteps coming closer. She looked up, her lips pursed as the old man slightly taller than her got near, his eyes narrowed as he watched her. Zuko came to a stop just in front of her.

"You lost control of your temper! It's the very first rule I taught you - never direct lightning at your opponents - and you almost did it!"

"I didn't mean to, grandpa," she said as she rolled her shoulders, her head tilting to the side to face him, her eyes skipping over his scar on the side of his face before she met his gaze. "I got disappointed and angry. I'll never manage to propel myself with fire."

His gaze softened. "You've managed all other forms of firebending, Kaida. You don't have to learn fire propulsion. You're a great firebender."

"Not good enough," she snapped, her fists clenching. "I'm supposed to become the next Fire Lord and I don't know how to propel myself with fire. Pathetic."

Zuko frowned. "You're not pathetic, Kaida. You're far from it, to be exact, and anyone who sees you can say so."

"I'm still not good enough," she murmured as she turned away, her eyes closing in resignation. "I'm never going to accomplish fire propulsion."

His frown deepened even more than before as he walked forward and came to stand in front of her. He raised a hand to her shoulder, bringing her to look up at him. He sent her a small smile.

"There's been a lot of times in my life I was certain I'd never manage to accomplish anything. In the end, I accomplished all I wanted. Believing in yourself and your abilities is the first step for dong anything you've ever wished for."

Despite her disappoinment in her abilities, Kaida couldn't help but smile at him. "Thank you, grandpa."

He nodded in response. "When you attempt to propel yourself with fire, you need to focus. Focus on what you want to do and let go of fear and any thoughts making you think you won't succeed. Because if there's one part of you believing you won't succeed, you'll fail. Without a doubt."

She nodded, serious as she took in his advice. Zuko smiled over at her and she was about to smile back when someone cleared their throat a few ways away. Zuko and Kaida turned to the sound only to see a woman with long grey hair and thin glasses walking over to them, a piece of parchment at hand. She raised an eyebrow at them.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Zuko smiled. "No, Izumi. How come you joined us?"

"I've an announcement to make for Kaida and I thought I'd find her here," she explained as she slowly turned her attention to her daughter watching her curiously. "President Raiko of Republic City is having a celebration in about a week regarding the forming of the third Spirit Portal in his city. The royal family of the Fire Nation is invited for the celebration and a meeting that will take place shortly after." She sent her a small smile. "I was thinking you could go in my place."

Zuko hummed his agreement as Kaida's eyes widened. "Really?"

Izumi nodded. "I also got word from Iroh. He'll be in Republic City in time for the celebration as well."

"Iroh will be there?" she asked even though she had just heard the answer, her lips pulling into a wide smile at the mention of her older brother. As her mother nodded, she turned to her grandfather briefly before she turned to face the Fire Lord and sent her a nod.

"When am I leaving?"

Welcome, everyone, to my first fic set in legend of korra, Dragonfire!

I really hope you like the story as much as I did, as I had quite some fun while writing it, not to mention firebending and the fights in general are so enjoyable (at least, I love writing them). Thank you for reading the prologue and giving the story a chance.

There will be an update every other day.

I don't know what else to say, so I'm just going to let you continue the story. Votes and comments are of course appreciated!

Take care,
Olga