Chapter 3: The Gala
Femke's POV
A few weeks went by at Air Temple Island in which Korra continued her airbending training with Tenzin as well as her training with the pro-bending team she was currently in. Korra told me a lot about pro-bending, as well as the rules and how the game was played. It sounded really nice to me and I wondered if I would play in a pro-bending team as well someday. It did sound like a cool game to play. I didn't see Tarrlok again in the few weeks that followed but he did send avatar Korra all sorts of gifts to try and convince her to join his task force. Only one time he send me a gift as well. A small necklace in the form of a hearth with the some Kanji engraved in it. I didn't know what it said but I loved the gesture. It meant he really cared about me. Floxy however thought it meant something more and made all kind of jokes about it whenever I touched it.
"I think it means New Love." He teased me while I saw the servant Tarrlok had sent several times with gifts for Korra. I smiled when I saw him, wondering what Tarrlok would give to Korra this time.
"Avatar Korra, I have something for you."
The councilman's servant said as he walked up to Korra for the fifth time this week, reaching in his pocket but Korra was in a bad mood because she jumped on her feet and stomped up some earth under the servant's feet to throw him off balance.
" It doesn't matter how many gifts Tarrlok sends. I'm not joining his task force!" She said as she stomped on the ground so hard that the servant started to become nervous.
"No, no, it's not a present. It's an invitation. Tarrlok is holding a gala in your honor. All of Republic City's important people will be there. The Councilman humbly requests your attendance." The servant said as he handed Korra a blue envelope with a red seal on it. "And I also have an invitation for the young lady with the name Femke. Tarrlok would like it if she came as well." The servant said as he handed me the same envelope. I took it with a slight bow of my head and blushed a little. Tarrlok had asked me to come over as well, which had to mean he liked me. I liked him as well. As a friend. But I really wanted to make a good impression, since it would be the first time I would be with the citizens again in eighty-five years and Tenzin already told me Lin Beifong would be there too.
"You just want to make a good impression on Tarrlok, we all know that." Floxy joked when I asked him how I looked for the fifth time that hour.
"Floxy, you know I'm married. Stop making fun of it, okay?"
I exclaimed, a bit irritated by his constant teasing. It wasn't like I didn't have any feelings for Tarrlok but they were just not like I was in love with him, it felt more like he had something special. Not only his fairy powers but also in his appearance that seemed to trigger some feelings within me. Like I knew him from somewhere. I couldn't recall from where or when since I have been away from the Avatar World for eighty-five years.
"It could be your feelings are like this because of his fairy powers since his past life and your past life knew each other." Floxy said with a thoughtful look in his purple eyes. Something that made me laugh on the inside. Floxy was never match of a thinker and to see him actually think about something before he spits it out. That's rare and since he was making such a funny face while doing so it was hard not to laugh.
"We'll see soon enough. We gotta go now or we're gonna be late." I smiled as I fixed the young elf's tie then put him on my shoulder before we headed to the place where the party was held.
Tarrlok's POV
The night off the party I made sure I looked my best not only because I was the host but also because Femke would be there. The fairy girl with the beautiful hazel eyes that somehow didn't leave my thoughts.
"Love is for fools. You should focus on getting the avatar killed and nothing else."
I remember my father Yakone snapped those words at me as if it was yesterday. That had been the one time in Noatak's early teenage years that he had been snapped at by our father while he was flirting with a girl which had made him furious because he knew love would make us forget what he had destined us for.
"Time will fly, days will pas. But I will be with you and someday you will know. Love will bring us together." A song suddenly hit me, striking a familiar chord. I had no idea why. The voice singing wasn't my mother's nor could it belong to some other female relative since father always kept the remaining family as far away from us as possible.
'Then why is the song feeling so familiar to me? Where did I hear it before?'
I thought as I looked at my own reflection in the mirror. Like all the answers would come out of it but none came. Only a blurry image of a mother holding her baby close while singing that strange lullaby.
"Sir, the Avatar and her friends have arrived." A servant snapped me out of my thoughts as I looked at him firmly.
"And the girl I personally invited? Did she come as well?" I asked, voice stern to keep the servant from noting I was hoping she was there as well since I hadn't seen her for quite some time and I was beginning to get excited to start my fairy training with her.
"No Sir. No sign of her yet." The Servant replied before he bowed and went away to welcome the guests,. With a bowed head I walked into the main hall and smirked when I saw Korra standing next to Tenzin.
'This time you won't be able to say 'no' to me.'
I thought as I started to walk towards her. But as I did so I noticed someone else was entering. I looked at the top of the stairs and there she was, looking beautiful in a long green dress with yellow stripe in the middle. Her hair flowing behind her back with a grey and black headband in it. Carefully I walked to the end of the stairs as she carefully descended from them, smiling a little as she looked around.
"Thanks for coming, Femke. You look beautiful." I complimented her as she blushed at the compliment before she curtseyed lightly.
"Thank you." She smiled just a slow music tune started to play and I knew I should be trying to get Korra to join my task force but it couldn't hurt to wait a little bit to have some fun.
"May I have this dance?" I asked Femke with a polite bow.
"Of course." She replied as she gave another bow before we walked onto the dance floor with me.
Femke's POV
We ran a little late for the party because the taxi came in late but the party hadn't started that long when I came in. When I walked in, I saw a crowd and nearly balked. I hated crowds.
"Stay cool. You're doing great. Just breathe." Floxy whispered in my ear from his spot in my handbag. I smiled at him before I walked down like a princess should before giving Tarrlok who had come to stand under the stairs when he saw me, a small curtsey.
"Thanks for coming Femke. You look beautiful." Tarrlok complimented me with a small smile on his face which made me smile as well, to the great annoyance of Floxy.
"Thank you." I smiled as I curtseyed again, praying I wasn't acting like a princess too much but Tarrlok didn't seemed to notice. Perking up his ears as a slow song started to play.
"May I have this dance?"
He asked me with a polite bow.
"Of course." I replied without any hesitation, taking his hand and letting him lead me onto the dance floor. "First time?" I asked after a while.
"Is it that obvious?" He asked me.
"Kinda." I smiled with a mischievous smirk on my face.
"It's getting better." Tarrlok smiled as he lifted me up only to step on my feet again when I was brought down.
"You have a lot to learn. Unless you're saving your best dance for the Avatar."
I smiled at tarrlok as I nodded to Korra, who was talking with Tenzin.
"No thanks. But that reminds me. Meet me outside after the conference. I want to talk to you in private."
He smiled at me. And I couldn't help but nod at him before the dance ended and Tarrlok went to his duties as Councilman.
"Someone has a date." Floxy smirked at me teasingly which caused me to blush heavily.
"Not at all. We're just friends that's all. He probably just wants to ask when we can start his Fairy training." I stammered which caused floxy to smirk at me.
"And pigs can fly. Come on! Its obvious he liked you." Floxy retorted which caused me to blush before fleeing outside after giving my handbag with Floxy in it to Tenzin with the message to take care of it for a moment.
"Finally, some fresh air." Femke sighed as she looked around the the garden that was behind the building Tarrlok had hired to have this Gala. It was beautiful, even if it was in the middle of the city.
'It's far better here than inside. I was almost melting in there.' I thought as I removed my shoes and walked towards the small pond in the middle of the garden. I sat down at the side of pond and stuck my legs in the water, enjoying the cool water on my legs as I played with my waterbending a little. That was until I saw the water floated away from me, and when I looked up I saw were the water went; Tarrlok stood behind me, smiling as he held the water he had bended away from me between his two hands.
"I wondered where you went." He smiled as he bended the water back into the pond and walked my way.
"You wanted to meet me here?" I asked him, noticing a sad aura around him as I looked at him. "What is it? " I asked him as I gave him a sad look, placing my hand on his knee in a comforting way.
"I just wanted to tell you; I'm not who you think I am. I'm not just a Councilman." He stammered as he looked at me sadly. I looked at him with a gentle smile as I carefully placed my hand on his shoulder.
"What's wrong? You can trust me." I smiled as I looked at him before I thought of something and carefully moved down my shirt moving it down so a white scar became visible on my collar.
"I only tell you this because I know I can trust you. The full moon hides a lot of things. Like this." I slowly said as I looked up at the dark sky were the full moon became visible.
"Like bloodbending." Tarrlok sighed as he looked up at the moon as well. I nodded slowly as I kept my gaze at the moon.
"But also something else." I said as i felt some hair grow on my jaw which started to elongate.
"What are are you talking about?" The waterbender asked me as he looked at me before he backed away when he saw how long my jaw was and most likely how yellow my eyes were. "What are you?"
He asked me as he looked at me with a look full of shock and horror.
Tarrlok's POV
As I was trying to tell Femke the truth about my past, something strange was happening to her her jaw got longer and her eyes became sharper and yellow.
"What are you?" I asked her her. Because where Femke had been was now a monster. A creature with hair white as the moon and eyes sparkling yellow.
"I'm half human, half werewolf. I only show you this to prove to you I'm not gonna reveal my secret. And if I ever were to, you have something to reveal about me as well." Femke said as she changed back into a human. Was she some sort of Spirit?
"How did you become like that?" I asked as I looked at her with widened eyes. I saw something flash in Femke's eyes, before they turned green again.
"Because I was bitten by another one of my kind." Femke replied as she looked at some people that were passing by a few feet away with a sharp look. I followed her gaze and understood why she hadn't said the word 'werewolf' when I saw those people pass by. She wanted to keep this part of her secret.
'Just like me. I can't show my bloodbending skills to anyone. It would only frighten people and get me arrested.' I thought as I looked her in the eyes and felt something twitch inside me. Like I should know her from somewhere.
"What did you want to tell me?" Femke asked me as she placed a hand on my knee.
"I'm not sure I should tell you this. It's quite the rare skill. It's forbidden." I started stammering at the very idea of mentioning my powers to a person I had just met. But on the other hand, if something turned out between us and she had to find out later on, she was bound to hate me.
"It's alright. My powers are considered forbidden as well. It's okay, you can tell me." She said as she smiled at me. Again a twitch of recognition went through me as she smiled at me. But what she said did help me. And with that I started to tell her my tale.
Femke's POV
As Tarrlok told me about his past as the son of the Bloodbender Yakone, I was horrified by how this man treated his sons.
"That's so sad." Was all I could bring out after he finished the story. looking at him with tears in my eyes.
"We never found Noatak's body after he died. We think a wild animal got him. It's too bad got solid proof he isn't among the living anymore." Tarrlok said as he looked to the side sadly and for one moment I saw tears in his eyes.
"Now you might, you know keep hoping you run into each other again someday." I said which made Tarrlok look at me with widened eyes before he nodded. And when he looked back at me, it was visible he had tears in his eyes.
"I did at first. I really did but it's clear to me now that I will never see him again." Tarrlok said. I was surprised to see his emotions took the better of him. Wanting to comfort him, I pulled him in a hug.
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And with that hug I end the chapter. Sorry it took me some time but I really had to think this chapter through before I wrote it. Especially since Femke's werewolf powers, which are going to play a big part in the story.
A/N:
Both femke and Tarrlok feel something familiar when near each other, which is gonna turn out in something later on but you will see by then.
Femke revealing her werewolf powers to Tarrlok was meant to show him she was taking his secret very serious and that she is gonna keep it secret.
That was all for now. I sure hope to see you all next time thanks for reading everyone and don't forget to review.