The years flew by, and the parade grounds and solitary cells were simply memories floating in Korra's mind. Today was another private lesson with the Warden, and she looked forward to those ones. It usually meant staying indoors, out of the chilling cold.
As she entered the room, young Korra performed the perfunctory bow to the warden, a Fire Nation tradition that was mandatory across all colonies.
"Excellent. You're on time." The Warden nodded approvingly, "I've prepared some tea for us. Today, I will be teaching you about the history of our great nation."
"Our nation?" Korra asked, slightly puzzled by the implication of what that meant.
"Why of course!" The Warden replied, irritated at having his will questioned. "Everything the sun touches is the domain of Phoenix Empire, and you, being a subject of the Empire, have a duty to know its history!"
"If you say so..." Korra said uneasily, settling into her seat and taking a cautious sip from her tea cup.
"Good...then we'll begin with the reign of Firelord Sozin..." The warden began enthusiastically as he highlighted the details of the reign of the famous Firelord.
Eventually though, he frowned as he saw Korra's shoulder slump several minutes in. The girl was already bored, unfocused, and ready to doze off to sleep. He had half a mind to punish her again right there, but he relented with a sigh.
"If you do well today. I will let your parents have the rest of the week off." The warden said patiently.
"Really?" Korra's eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
"Of course child." The Warden replied, the stern visage returning.
"But only if you pay attention!" He snapped.
At those words, Korra snapped ramrod straight, the picture of the model student.
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Korra gave the icy cliffs an uneasy glance as they made landfall. It felt odd landing back in the South Pole after all these months, especially now as the newly-discovered Avatar. How would her parents react, knowing what she knew now? And how exactly would she face everyone else that she had known in the prison all her life growing up there? The questions buzzed uneasily inside Korra's head as she stood on the icy shores, keeping a lookout for any Fire Nation patrols in the area.
While she kept watch, Noatak and Tarrlok took great care to hide the submersible underneath a sleet of freshly frozen ice, giving the impression of a broken off chunk of ice that had fallen off one of the many glaciers in the area. Zuko disembarked with them, giving his Dual Daos an experimental slice in the air before sheathing them once again.
"So." Tarrlok asked curiously as he stowed away his mechanist goggles, involuntarily shivering as a cold biting wind tore through the group.
"Just what is the plan?"
"I've thought about it on the way over, and I've talked it over with Zuko" Noatak replied, giving Zuko a nod as well, albeit grudgingly. He still didn't trust the Firebender completely, but he recognized the help that his skills could bring on the mission.
"Our number one priority is finding Korra's parents." The water bender said coolly. "Zuko says he has an idea of how to get in."
The Firebender nodded, taking Noatak's cue to explain his side of things.
"I did some scouting here a few months back when we originally found you. The prison camp has a depot near here where they keep their heavy armor and Tundra tanks. If we can sneak inside using one of the tundra tanks, or even dress up like a Fire Nation soldier, it would make things easier."
