unseen heart

02

"Good morning! I trust that you are all well rested. I am your general Makeda, Kuvira's second in command. You will not speak to her directly, you will speak to me."I announced as I stood in front of the recruits with my hands behind my back wearing the uncomfortable metal uniform.

We had stopped by a nearby field where I was told that I was going to have to teach the recruits what they needed to know.

"I want to speak to you directly in my bed, Princess."

A new recruit said which made me look around at the crowd of men and saw a group snickering, I rolled my eyes as I simply nodded my head to the side blood bending the recruit towards me.

"W-what are you doing to me?!"he asked in fear his face filled with confusion and fear. I lowered my hand making him kneel in front of me.

"Did you come here to undermine women?"I asked as I lifted my one hand making his head tilt up to face me and I slightly knelt down with one knee to his level and glared at him.

"No! No!"He yelled as he fought to break my bending but I just stared at him.

"This is not even how tight I can go. I can get abit tighter than this and stop your blood flow."I spoke up making him look up at me in fear.

"Dare you speak about any woman in such a disgusting manner, I will make a sword out of your blood."I threatened as I glared at him before I tossed him aside and let him go making him stand up slowly before he stood up straight making the other men tense up.

"Alright, since we all appear to be cooperating. The first lesson is to putting your uniforms on."I announced as I placed my hands behind me back and stared at them.

I hated having to use intimidation tactics as well, but after witnessing Kuvira do it many times, I knew that it was the only way to get respect from my recruits. As I spent the day teaching them how to put on their metal uniforms, I finally had a moment to myself during dinner. I sat on the roof of the train and stared out at the night sky, taking in a deep breath and trying to relax from a long day.

"Oh, sorry."

I looked besides me and saw one of the recruits making me shake my head.

"No, no. You wanted to clear your mind, yes?"I asked politely, gesturing for him to take a seat next to me. He nodded his head slowly and took the offer, still seeming slightly nervous about breaking the physical barrier between us.

"You look quite familiar."I mumbled as I took a moment to study his face. The longer I looked at him, the more certain I was that he looked like someone I knew.

"A movie star?"he joked making me giggle before I shook my head.

"No, you look like a guy I met at Republic City."I responded my mind drifting to Mako, I had not seen him in weeks and I missed him dearly.

"Oh! That might have been my brother. I have not seen him in a while."He responded which made me look at him with a huge smile as I racked my brain for his name.

"Wait, are you Bolin?"I asked, my eyes widening with the realization that I might indeed be seeing a familiar face once again. I remember seeing his name in the headlines for pro-bending all throughout Republic City.

"I'm Bolin."he confirmed my suspicions with a mischievous grin on his face as he chuckled.

"Wait, do you know Mako? How is he?"he asked with a huge smile making me giggle.

"Yeah, he wouldn't stop telling me about you. He's doing great, I have not seen him in such long time."I responded whilst giggling

"Man, I miss him."he muttered as he looked off to the stars which made me frown.

"I'll pull some strings and make sure you come along for Prince Wu's coronation." I said, prompting Bolin to turn and face me with excitement.

He then uttered, "You're the nicest person I've met on this train."before wrapping his arms around me in a hug.

"I try to be more like Kuvira and I hate it."I mumbled, glancing up at the night sky as I struggled with the complicated emotions I felt.

"She can be intense and scary."Bolin chimed in, prompting a small smile to tingle across my lips.

"I would tell you that she's actually really sweet but that would be bias of me because she actually raised me."I said with a light chuckle, I could see the surprise on his face, his eyes begging for more details.

"I always love telling this story to show people how much of a big heart Kuvira actually has."I began, feeling a sense of pride and joy as I remembered that day.

"I was a young princess from a highly esteemed royal family based in the Horn of Africa, but when my home was sieged, Kuvira saved me. She took me to the Earth Kingdom with her, she taught me all I know."I responded as I glanced at Bolin making him look at me sympathetically.

"Do you still see your parents?"Bolin asked, there was a slight tinge of concern in his voice, and I could see that he was trying to find a way to comfort me.

"No, they were both executed."I replied bluntly, not wanting to sugarcoat the truth.

"I'm sorry, Both my parents were killed by a firebending mugger."he muttered making me look at him sadly and pull him into a tight hug.

"I am sorry that happened to you and Mako."I muttered as I felt him wrap his arms around me.

"I think you and I are going to be very close friends." I echoed, smiling at him and seeing his expression become more relaxed.

"Yeah, I need help with metal bending." he said, the conversation quickly becoming more focused on the topic at hand.