Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Korra shivered in the early morning sunlight as the rags she wore did little to keep off the dewy chill. The motion gently clanked the length of golden chain that were attached to her only other attire, a set of matching handcuffs and a collar. The engine of the idling Satomobile in front of her changed pitch as it shifted into first gear and began to slowly roll forward, pulling the water bender forward towards the looming stone gates of Ba Sing Se. The column of dark green soldiers surrounding them began to move in a lock stop that stood in stark contrast to Korra’s staggering gait as she attempted to keep up with the uneven stuttering of the advancing car as it barely maintained a speed above a stall.

Korra briefly wondered if the choking fumes of the exhaust were meant to be an extra layer of humiliation heaped upon the other indignities already piled around her neck or merely a happy accident on the part of the Earth Empire. She was pulled from her thoughts to see the inexpertly draped inner gates of Ba Sing Se open, the symbol of the Earth Empire fluttering in the wind. As the massive structure ground itself open, a sea of jeers and insults poured forth from the crowd assembled along the streets of the massive city. Dozens of soldiers held back the crowd lining the street as they hurled every profane insult they could think of along with a smattering of foul-smelling projectiles that failed to reach the targeted Water Tribe member solely by the immense distance across of the thoroughfare the ghastly procession trundled along.

The specific words chosen mattered little to Korra, and they quickly blurred together into a dull throb of shame that burned into her gut with every step she took. The barrage of hate she faced drew on the full knowledge of the assembled people and ran the gamut of insulting her heritage to her sexual history. However, there was one commonality among the many creative abuses hurled at her from the crowd.

They were screaming for her death.

The miserable caravan continued for a seeming eternity, more than a long enough period that she could see the progression of the sun raise up above the high wall behind her to blazing directly overhead. She felt ready to wretch and likely would have if she had eaten before putting on the costume of a prisoner of the Empire. The guards had not allowed her such luxury. Her legs, normally strong in any situation, had begun to weaken with the strain and fear of her forced march through the city by the time she finally came to the palace of the Earth Queen.

Unlike during the Earth Queen’s reign, the courtyard was filled with throngs of citizens from all lots of life. They were surrounded on all sides by ring of Earth Empire soldiers, from a mix of city police, Earth Empire soldiers, and even a large contingent of Dai Li. Korra dully noted that there were likely more people in this one place than she had ever met in her entire life previously, and it was seemingly on her last day alive.

Korra was drawn from her more philosophical thoughts by her harsh reality reasserting itself as the Satomobile in front her came to stop. A soldier with a silk mask covering his face disconnected the golden chain from the bender. Korra shivered once not from the chill but from the realization that the man had a covered face because he would serve as her executioner. He led her on foot across the square and towards the collected officials of the Earth Empire. Upon reaching the base of the great marble steps that led up to the speaking dais, the man whipped the golden chain forward and Korra spilled ungracefully onto the white rock on her exhausted legs.

Korra considered simply laying on the ground with the only means of resistance she had left, that of complete non-compliance with the end of her life. She was pulled out her morbid thoughts by the roar of the crowd, but this time full of cheers as opposed to the boos and insults she had received. She craned her neck upward into the bright morning sunlight only to see a silhouette appear behind the dais. A thundering voice called down from the metal stand adorned with the symbol of the Earth Empire.

“Tribute, come forth to meet your fate.”

The guard delivered several swift kicks to Korra’s kneeling form to drive her up the steps, and once she had begun her ascent, she attempted to maintain as much dignity as she could. She straightened her back, rolled her shoulders and locked eyes with the woman who had called her forward. As she locked eyes with the Great Uniter, she was surprised to see that despite the steely continence Kuvira held in front of the crowd, the woman was strikingly attractive in person. Korra had a great deal of trouble keeping her eyes from roving over the woman’s imperious eyebrows, strong cheek bones, and a single beauty mark that seemed the only soft thing about the rigid woman. Her armor gleamed in the sun, her expression was one of cool indifference, and her posture square to the roaring masses before her. In short, she was a woman that was the image of complete control.

She held her hand up to dull the cries of “Uniter!” that came unceasingly from the crowd before she spoke again.

“Korra of the water tribe, kneel and hear the judgement of a victorious people,” Kuvira said.

The crowd roared its approval at the reminder of their victory over the Water Tribe’s fleet. Kuvira let the crowd express their jubilation for several minutes, long enough for Korra to lower herself onto the step below her without ever breaking contact with Kuvira’s eyes. Korra felt a tiny amount of elation as Kuvira was the one to break their eye contact to address the crowd.

“I hear your calls for justice! Justice for the raids from ancient times, and for the modern shirking of reparations. Justice for the recent attacks on our honest diplomatic envoys that we have beaten back and repaid tenfold. And why shouldn’t you call for justice? Justice is the basis of order, and who among you can doubt that I stand with you for order? I too call for justice with you!”

The crowd cheered at Kuvira’s words as she stood basking in the praise. Korra shivered.

“But I ask you to do further than sleepwalk through your politics. I do not ask you to turn away from the determination of your own lives with the cheap opium of subservience the royals were happy to peddle. I ask you to look into your own hearts. Would killing this woman, this girl, be justice?”

The bulk of the crowd broke into confused murmurs at the change in direction the speech seemed to be taking, although there were several pockets of people who began yelling “Yes, Yes!”

When they quieted at the sight of Kuvira’s outstretched hand, Korra felt the smallest blossom of hope spring up in her gut for the first time since she had entered the towering gates of the Earth kingdom’s capital.

“Under the old regime of blood, yes. Killing her would be justice. But a justice of blood for blood, barbarity for barbarity. A nasty, brutish, and short justice. A justice that would kill at a moments notice! The husbands, sons, wives and daughters of the outer ring know this justice all too well. The citizen of the mid ring who asked for even the basest assistance from the old regime knew this justice too. And any of the upper ring who bore witness to the cruelty inflicted on the whims of a mad woman too knew the Queen’s justice!”

The crowd reacted with a unified booing and yelling, although it was impossible to tell if they were booing the old regime or the denunciation of the old regime, and Korra wondered if that was possibly the entire point of the rhetoric.

“Furthermore, I ask you this: is our modern empire, forged on order by your hands, going to continue to be dependent on a cruel justice? On a justice that comes from whims? Or should be choose a fair justice? I see in front of me a girl chains who has killed no citizens of the Earth empire. She has ordered no one to do so either. She is only associated with our enemies by her birth right, which has renounced by coming here in rags. Many of you were not long ago in her position. You lived under the old regime, as far as you could live, and when I came into power, did I hold you accountable for the actions of the thieves that stole the national treasury? Did I hold you accountable for the brutal opposition of the royal bureaucrats? Or did I welcome you with open arms into the order of our new Earth Empire?”

The crowd gave a shout, although it was obvious the loudest came from those in uniform rather than the civilians.

“No! I sought a fair justice for you, the common people, and looked past any support of the oppressive royals in the past once you were shown a better way to support the Earth Empire. Is our Empire strong enough to reject the opulence of wasting a young woman’s life for a mirage of justice? Will we not show the world that with reeducation, with firm dedication, with our unwavering resolve that even the daughter of hinterland savages can be turned into a civilized member of our perpetual resistance to foreign occupation?”

The crowd cheered, and the smirk playing across Kuvira’s as they began chanting ‘Uniter!’ told Korra all she needed to on how well planned each twist and turn the speech had taken to get the crowd to go from cheering her death to cheering her sparing.

“Then I will take her under my personal tutelage! The royals robbed you off the glory of your 100 year resistance, used the Dai Li to hide the staunchness of our soldiers and citizens defense against the fire nation from even the proudest earth citizen until the gates had been breached. I will not rob you of the glory of our new Earth Empire, for it is not a state of blood, but one of iron! The iron of a people singing out in one voice: For the people, for fair justice, for total victory! I will spare this girl as a symbol of our glory, and you will share in the triumph as she is molded into a productive woman of our Empire. We will show the world our greatness even as history watches!”

Kuvira grabbed one of Korra’s wrists and dragged her arm into the air as she led her back to the microphone. Korra had no lack of muscle development, but even she could feel the steely grip of the Earth Premiere as she raised their hands in triumph. The crowd erupted into cheers loud enough that Kuvira had to shout into the speaker system.

“No foreign aggression! No domestic oppression! Freedom for the citizens of the Earth Empire!”

The moment she finished speaking, as the crowd reached their most frenzied pitch and Korra was afraid the press of people would overrun the metal barricades set up in front of the stage, one plain-looking man rushed forward with a perfectly blank expression. A second of glinting under his robes was the only warning Korra received before she felt herself flung off her feet and pressed into the darkness of an enveloping cocoon of metal from the dais.

She barely registered the warm body she was pushed up against in the pitch black before a terrible reverberating roar rocked the enclosed space. Korra instinctively clapped her hands over her ears but it did little to stop the bone conduction of the booming explosion inside the small metal coffin. As the sound died away to a pinging echo inside the cramped quarters, Kuvira finally spoke directly to her.

“Welcome to Ba Sing Se, water girl.”

Chapter Text

“What was that? What is any of this?” Korra asked.

“One of my better speeches, I’d wager,” Kuvira said.

“Where am I?”

“You’ve never seen metal bending in person before, have you? Or suicide bombers, I’d bet,” Kuvira said.

“Suicide? If he wanted to kill himself-”

“He wanted to kill me. You were in the way, so I decided to extend my iron blossom around you as well. You’re welcome.”

“You’re not going to kill me? Really?”

“I meant what I said in the speech. Cover your ears.”

“Wha-”

A second explosion rang out to the same effect as the first, with only enough shockwave bouncing around inside the robust cocoon to nearly deafen Korra a second time as opposed to rip her limb from limb.

“They send in a second one if the first can’t get the job done, just in case anyone let’s their guard down too soon.”

“That was- that was another person dying?”

“Hopefully just the one. But yes. And I don’t have time to explain now, but I truly am sorry for what will happen tonight, but now you know what I’m dealing with. Remember to look under the sink whe I send you to the bathroom. I hope you can understand.”

Korra blinked as the petals of the cocoon peeled back to show too bright sunlight filtering through a haze of smoke to illuminate the carnage that had taken place in the palace courtyard. The pervading sounds were of screaming, horrible wrenching screams of agony not quite drowned out by the panicked screams of the fleeing crowd. Several bodies lay collapsed on the ground along with a terrible swirl of acrid smoke, the scent of torn metal and blood filled the air and an implausible number of colorful papery debris swirled in the air. Kuvira easily shot out one of the tendrils of cable at her hip to snag one of the green papers in the air, only to dismissively toss it to the ground after reading the headline.

“I’m the one who’s too weak to kill? I should show the goddamn Dai Li just how-” Kuvira started before a metal bender ran up to interrupt her along with several other security guards.

“Great Uniter! We have to get you to safety, as first citizen we can’t leave you exposed when there is a threat on your life!”

“Yes, yes, I’ll go back to the palace. A piss poor job of killing me, though. Messy, too,” Kuvira said as she frowned at the blood that had splattered over the steps.

“What about me?” Korra asked.

Kuvira turned from the armored Saatomobile she was headed towards to raise an eyebrow.

“What about you?” Kuvira asked.

“I’m- I’m a water bender. I’m not the best healer, but, but I’m pretty sure I can help,” Korra said.

“Then help. You don’t need permission,” Kuvira said.

She moved towards her armored car for a second before turning back to Korra.

“You know, they wanted to kill you ten minutes ago. You don’t owe them anything,” Kuvira said.

“I want to help,” Korra said more firmly.

“You’re… not what I expected,” Kuvira said with a smile.

With a snap of Kuvira’s fingers, the shackles fell from Korra’s wrists.

“Now go help.”

Korra hardly needed a second command to run to the nearest woman, an Earth Empire soldier who was desperately trying to reattach her arm. A nearby metal bender held the thrashing woman down long enough for Korra to feel along the ravaged energy lines of the woman’s body until she found the gushing artery spilling her life blood onto the ancient stone. With a quick twist, she closed the end of the brachial branch and was rewarded with a high pitched shriek from the woman before she collapsed into a whimpering mass.

“She’ll live. Help me with the next one, uh,” Korra said to the guard.

“Hong Li,” the guard said.

His voice came out with a grating metallic sound. Korra’s eyes flashed upwards in alarm, and she saw that there was a small deformity in the man’s breathing apparatus that many of the metal benders wore. Upon closer inspection, Korra could plainly see that there was a chunk of shrapnel that had gone through and was pinning the mishappen mask to his face.

“You’re hurt,” Korra said.

“Not recently. It’s an old injury, took a shell clearing out the mid-ridge clique. We’ve got civvies to attend to,” Hong Li said.

As Korra’s eyes trailed up, she saw the man was telling the truth. The top half of his helmet had clearly been specially fitted around the unmoving lower half, and the man moved with an energy that belied any recent injury. Seeing that he had gotten a good distance away from her, she scampered after him.

“Good to see you, sir! He’s losing a lot of blood,” said the next guard.

His moon face was streaked with soot and stained with blood of the man was attempting to staunch the bleeding of as the body sat limp.

“Do your water healing, thing, or whatever,” Hong Li said to Korra.

“You’re a water healer? Oh boy, do we need one right now,” the guard said.

“Hold him steady and shut up, Bolin,” Hong Li said.

“It’s ok. I don’t mind talking,” Korra said as she felt through the gaping hole in the man’s stomach. “Anything to distract me from feeling the chi lines of someone’s intestines.”

“Fuck,” Hong Li said quietly from where he had perched above them.

“Yeah, of course! I’m great at distracting! I’m Bolin, by the way. You might have seen some of my movers. I know I’m dressed in uniform right now, but believe me, underneath it I definitely do have the body of Nuktuk of the North! Not that I mean you should look under my clothes. Is that even a thing water benders can do or did Mako make that up?” Bolin asked.

Korra smiled for the first time, even as she focused on knitting the man’s ripped apart organ together as she tried to bend the disgusting slurry of sepsis back into its container.

“Mako made that up,” Korra said.

“Oh that’s good. You never think you’re going to feel embarrassed about your body until your naked unexpectedly,” Bolin said.

Korra raised an eyebrow, but was surprised when she saw Hong Li turn his back on her as he looked off at nothing in particular. With one final flourish, she sealed the man’s guts.

“Excuse me? I’m ready to go on to the next one,” Korra said.

“Of course,” Hong Li said. “Come on, mover star. Seems like you’re helping… somehow.”

“That’s what they said at my last job, too!” Bolin said proudly as he took off his gloves and threw them behind him on his way after them. “We just saved that guy!”

“There’s a more,” Korra muttered.

“So hop to it!” Hong Li said.

The odd trio set out among the injured. Korra managed to stabilize several more people before there were no more injured left that hadn’t been transported to the hospital.

“Not bad, water bender,” Hong Li said. “Would have been quite the butcher’s bill without you helping.”

“I’m just happy to help,” Korra said, wiping a light sheen of sweat from her eyes. “You know, I could probably get that shrapnel out of your neck, if no one else has been able to yet.”

“That’s…” Hong Li’s voice cracked and Korra couldn’t hear what he whispered under the metal covering.

“I mean, not right now, I’m pretty tapped out for today, and I would imagine it’s pretty delicate work. But I’m willing to try if you are,” Korra said.

“Don’t make promises you might not keep,” Hong Li said as he slapped the pair of golden handcuffs back on her.

“Hey! I thought we already did this part,” Korra said.

“Our first citizen would like you in her private chamber now that you’re done here. It isn’t a request,” Hong Li said.

“She could have just asked. It’s not like I don’t owe her one,” Korra grumbled.

“Kuvira has a plan. She always does. I’ve learned to follow orders exactly,” Hong Li said. “It’s for the best.”

“For who?” Korra asked.

Hong Li didn’t answer as he pulled her over to a satomobile. He didn’t talk to her on the ride through the palace complexes many streets, or when they pulled up to an impressively large building. Only once they had come to a lush front door inside the Earth Queen’s palace guarded by two stern looking metal benders did Hong Li say anything at all.

“She’s here,” Hong Li said.

The guards nodded at her before they opened the door to reveal a waiting Kuvira.

“Thank you for escorting the water bender to me,” Kuvira said. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Of course, ma’am,” Hong Li said.

The doors clanked shut behind Korra as she stepped into the bedroom. Before Korra could properly react to the sound, Kuvira had stepped across the room and hovered to a stop mere inches away from Korra. Reared up to her full height, she was able to look down her nose at Korra, and the smirk on her face did little to put Korra at ease.

“You’re probably wondering what you’re doing here,” Kuvira said.

“I mean, I remember you mentioned something about using me as a resource for your nation,” Korra said.

“I am the nation, and I certainly intend to use you for your full potential, yes,” Kuvira said.

She emphasized her point by grasping Korra’s cheeks between her thumb and forefinger and tilting her jaw up. Korra tried to ignore the icy fire the move stirred in her as Kuvira continued to look down on her with a lecherous indifference in her steely gaze.

“I thought you meant my bending,” Korra said weakly.

“That’s your first mistake- don’t think. You’re bending does seem useful, but that’s not why I saved you. An ass like yours? Shame to waste it on a symbolic execution,” Kuvira said. “Much better used bent over my bed.”

“You said in your speech-” Korra said.

“You’re thinking again. Don’t do that again. Your job is to do what I tell you, do you understand?” Kuvira said.

“Yes,” Korra said.

Korra felt further unreality set in as she stood before the woman who seemingly had one last surprise during her first day in Ba Sing Se. her stomach had fallen through her fur boots and the room seemed to move as the exhaustion of the day made her lightheaded about the prospects of what was about to happen to her.

“You’re a waterbender, right? Well, I would suggest you use your bending to remove any filth from both inside and outside of yourself. You will not like it if I find any mess on my dick after I fuck your ass,” Kuvira said. “You have 15 minutes.”

Korra blanched.

“Oh, and if you’re thinking of going back on your word, and trying to escape with any of the water you find in there? Remember your family. Now hurry up,” Kuvira said.

Korra stumbled into the bathroom at Kuvira’s growled order, slamming the door shut behind her. She was spinning, and she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. She contemplated the irony of feeling a drowning feeling for the first time in her life only because she was a water bender. Taking a few calming breaths, she centered her mind with the most basic water bending form she had learned before she even entered school in one hand while she quickly shucked off her clothes. The water calmed her fraying mind, the inherent danger in each article of clothing hitting the floor flooding her mind before she let herself slip into the formless flow of endless elasticity inherent to water.

She could adjust to Kuvira’s sudden change in temperament, even if tonight was unpleasant. She would bide her time, coil herself away on the inside like an eel hiding in its cave until it was ready to strike. But even as she tried to detach herself from the situation, something nagged at her mind, caught in the stream.

She recalled Kuvira’s warning to check under the sink in the bathroom. Squatting down, she saw a piece of paper tied discretely under the sink. Unfolding, she read it at a fevered pace:

To Korra of the Water Tribe:

I apologize for the circumstances that have brought you to my private chambers. There is attached a small bottle of lubricant, which I’d suggest you use. I will have likely said and will say a great many cruel things, and will have to have sex with you. I will not be kind, but I request that you please play along as a hapless victim with this act, as I am doing this for other eyes than ours watching this room. Both our lives may depend on it.

This note is written on rice paper. Please eat after reading.

First Citizen Kuvira

Korra checked under the sink to indeed find a small bottle of lubricant also tied to the pipe under the sink. Korra smiled to herself as she unscrewed the top and indeed found a water-based lubricant. Removing her last piece of clothing, she went about the unpleasant task Kuvira had laid out for her with ease. She doubted this was one of the water bending forms any honorable scholar would write about, but it sped up the process of cleaning herself to the point she found herself with just enough time to ponder Kuvira’s motives. Remembering to pop Kuvira’s note in her mouth and swallowing the dry chunks, she considered what had happened to her over the course of the day.

The woman easily could have appeased the crowd and simply killed her earlier that day. If she was truly a dictator in waiting, the Machiavellian animal that many had made her out to be. Korra decided she would play along, even if she didn’t know how much choice she had in the matter. Kuvira certainly wasn’t unattractive, and if she thought this was necessary Korra was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt owing to her actions, even if her words seemed to shift like sand depending on the situation. Rolling her shoulders, she took several deep breaths before she put her hand on the door handle. Quickly thinking of what an more unwilling version of herself might decide to do, Korra quickly put her panties back on and adapted a quavering expression as she watched the floor in front her while she reentered the room.

Chapter Text

“Well, I’m glad you’ve removed most of the wrapping, but it seems like you left one thing on,” Kuvira said.

Kuvira had made several preparations while she was in the bedroom. Several lumps of metal lay arranged on a table to the side of the bed. Kuvira had removed her armored jacket to reveal a plain white tank top underneath, and her armored boots had similarly been placed by the door. She still wore her fitted black pants underneath, and only a strand of hair had been released from the tight bun she kept her hair in. Korra’s eyes were drawn to the strand all the same, and to the beauty mark which sat next to it. Remembering she was supposed to be terrified of the woman, Korra snapped her eyes downwards, reminding her that she was now mostly naked in front of the statuesque Adonis standing before her. A blush crept into her cheeks as her mind now replayed the muscular curves on full display under the thin cloth, and she shifted as she felt herself begin to harden with the increased blood flow to her nether regions.

The fully clothed woman stepped forward into Korra’s space once again. Korra jumped when Kuvira slipped a gloved hand onto her waist, and jumped again as her other hand reached down to grasp what was in between her legs. Giving a gentle squeeze, Korra squirmed under Kuvira’s rolling fingers and earned a chuckle from the taller woman.

“You’re not disappointed, that I’m trans, are you?” Korra asked.

“You think your little cock is a disappointment? Why should it be, when I’m much bigger and yours looks extremely cute on you?” Kuvira said.

Korra squirmed at Kuvira’s insults even as her own curiosity piqued. She had assumed Kuvira intended to fuck her with a strap-on, and now her mind was whirling with how and when an Earth Bender would have been able to receive the water bending necessary to physically alter her appearance. She was drawn from her curiosity when her gloves moved away from her center to travel up her side, and for a moment quivered at the loss of sensation. The heat returned when Kuvira moved to palm her breast and explore what her touch did to Korra. When Kuvira’s fingers reached her already stiff nipple, the water tribe girl had to hold in a moan as they slowly circled the dark brown peaks.

“Try to deny yourself all you want, I can see where your eyes go. You’re already going to obey my commands. You can’t stop yourself. There’s no point trying to hold yourself back,” Kuvira said.

Korra played along, and didn’t resist when Kuvira tilted her head up with one gloved finger, nor when she got close enough to feel her hot breath play across her lips. She didn’t try to stop the sharp scent of iron or the softer musk that hid underneath it from entering her nose, and she didn’t try to stop from falling into the deep grey pools of Kuvira’s gaze. She did have to restrain herself from leaning into the kiss Kuvira crushed against her lips, and was only able to disguise her eagerness to experience the surprisingly soft lips by squirming in a way she hoped would pass for discomfort rather than pleasure. Korra gasped as Kuvira trapped her lower lip between her teeth, then slowly pulled away from her to let it grate across her fangs.

“I didn’t say you could move,” Kuvira growled.

In a flash, Kuvira whipped her hands forward several times, and Korra felt herself slammed against the metal wall by one wrist, then the other, suspending her spread eagle several inches above the floor.

“Now, that’s better. Much more room to work with,” Kuvira said, swiping her loose lock of hair behind her ear with an easy motion as she leered at Korra from head to toe.

Kuvira closed the distance once again, but this time she buried her head in the crook of Korra’s neck. Restrained as she was, Korra could do nothing but roll her head to the side and gasp at the tongue and stinging nips applied to the delicate skin of her pulsepoint, her neck and her collarbones. As Kuvira moved down to lavish her breasts in the same attention, her gloves made a detour to inside the waist band of Korra’s panties, and with one smooth motion she ripped them completely free. Korra whimpered as she now sat exposed, her arousal on full display as Kuvira moved down to bathe her nipples in the same manner as her neck, leaving her to twist and twitch helplessly against the cold metal holding her steady.

Korra had to stop herself from pouting when Kuvira pulled back to leave her naked form writhing against the cold air and colder steel.

“You seem quite ready to accept the next phase of things, but you’ll have to learn patience,” Kuvira said.

With a practiced grace, Kuvira pulled her tank top over her head to expose her rippling back to Korra, a flexing mass of muscles crisscrossed by several long scars. Korra had to stop herself from drooling as Kuvira moved to easily roll off her pants to expose the round of her strong rear, and as she stood up Korra was able to see her strong thighs and calves roll down from her shapely ass.

Turning around, Kuvira was just as mouth-watering from the front as from behind. The her elegant neck led into her authoritative shoulders, the cut of her pectorals led into the swell of her breasts now unrestrained by any cloth. Her dusky pink nipples stood out proud against her pale skin, and as her eyes traced down over Kuvira’s taut abs she could see they were almost as erect as her prominent strapless. Korra could see that it had not suffered false advertising in its size, and she couldn’t help but notice that that there was a small brown freckle just to the right of the tip that mirrored the beauty mark on her face. Korra forgot that she was supposed to be an unwilling participant as she tracked the bobbing member as Kuvira came towards with strut in her step.

Kuvira flicked her wrist, and Korra was pulled from her salivating as she collapsed to the ground, her cuffs detaching from the wall. Pulling herself up onto her knees, she realized she was directly in front of Kuvira’s strapless. With a smirk, the woman selected another piece of metal from the side table. With on hand, Kuvira levitated the metal and then spun then spun it into a circle, before cracking it open. Slipping it around the base of her member, she reconnected the ring with a small flick of her wrist to create a small functional adornment that promised to keep her hard until it was removed.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t want to lose a second of this experience,” Kuvira said. “Now open up.”

Korra closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and stuck out her tongue. She felt the soft tip of Kuvira’s cock delicately come to rest in the middle of her offered tongue. Kuvira easily slid her hot shaft onto the pink slip and her head into Korra’s waiting mouth. Korra relaxed her jaw and curled her lip as the natural elasticity let her clamp down on Kuvira’s impressive girth.

“I’m glad you’ve accepted your service. Slut,” Kuvira said.

Korra flicked her tongue along the length of Kuvira’s shaft before moving up to circle the head. Kuvira groaned in approval as she explored under the soft hood of skin to lap at the smooth bulb underneath. Korra brought her hands up to rest on Kuvira’s strong thighs as she began rocking back and forth with the pleasure Korra was bringing to her. Korra moaned around the thick member, her stomach fluttering as she realized how much Kuvira was getting off because her efforts. Despite everything that had happened that day, she felt herself come alive for the first time as she finally took control of something directly in front of her. Her grip tightened as she felt Kuvira’s muscles flutter under her fingers, and had to hold back a smile as Kuvira gripped her hair with a wild intensity. Her hips began pushing forward in a wanton seeking of more of the friction Korra was providing. Korra felt proud at the deep growl Kuvira used next.

“That’s right, little water bender. Get it nice and wet, because that’s all the lube you’re going to get. You only get what you earn, from now on, princess,” Kuvira ground out.

Korra continued to flick her tongue over the head of Kuvira’s shaft, letting out what she hoped sounded like a genuinely distressed moan as she put a hand on her stomach and reached out with a gentle wave of her fingers to feel the lube still sitting inside of her. She allowed Kuvira to continue pushing in and out of her mouth at a steady rate, surrendered to the unyielding grip in her hair as Kuvira continued to fuck her mouth. She felt a twitch along the skin of the shaft as it went even more rigid than before as the Earth Empress added a small burst of precum to the thick saliva already dribbling down her chin.

In response, Kuvira added a second hand to the base of Korra’s neck and began slowly pressing her entire length into Korra’s mouth. Korra realized what Kuvira intended to do, and her steady progress let Korra prepare herself by relaxing her jaw and throat as the sight of Kuvira’s well maintained pubic hair came closer and closer to the tip of her nose. With a gulping sound, the head of Kuvira’s cock pushed into Korra’s throat and soon thereafter her bottom lip was brushing against her tight balls. Kuvira held herself there as Korra began to wiggle around her impressive member, her hair tickling her nose and an obscene gulping sound came from her constricting airway.

“Do you think that if you’re a good enough cocksucker I’m just going to forget about your ass? That I’ll cum in your mouth and I’ll let you off the hook? Know you’re fucking place,” Kuvira snarled.

Korra gasped as Kuvira pulled out of her mouth and let her collapse onto the ground.

“Now, get your face on the bed and your ass in the air,” Kuvira growled.

Korra complied with the order, only to unexpectedly shoot forward as her cuffs snapped together and then slammed forward to attach itself to the steel headboard.

“Now that’s a good view,” Kuvira said.

Korra yelped as Kuvira delivered a sharp slap to her upturned ass.

“Time for the main event. I hope you’re ready,” Kuvira said as she pushed her strapless up into the cleft of her ass.

Grabbing Korra’s hips in a steely grasp, Kuvira lined up to push into her.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” Kuvira said.

Kuvira pushed in slowly, adding more an more pressure to Korra’s exposed hole. Korra gasped as the head slipped past her outer ring, and she was glad she had stretched herself with her fingers before she had left the bathroom. The slight burn from the girth was soon overpowered when Kuvira brushed past the little button that now burned with intensity, and she couldn’t hold back a low moan as she felt Kuvira’s abs and hips come to rest against her ass.

Korra clenched around the penetrating member and her legs fluttered as Kuvira began to thrust in an out of her with a steady rhythm. She couldn’t help but let out a guttural sound as the thrusts picked up speed and started producing a wet slapping sound as Kuvira pounded into her with powerful strokes. Korra’s hips began bucking back into Kuvira’s heavy slamming. Kuvira let out an animalistic sound as she grabbed Korra’s hair once again and pulled it back harshly and then began fucking her with a renewed vigor.

“Spirits, you’re getting off on this, aren’t you, you little slut?” Kuvira spat.

Her hands roamed over Korra’s taut form, moving from teasing her breasts down across the brown expanse of her stomach to Korra’s own straining member. Korra barely tensed when Kuvira wrapped a gloved hand around it as the sensation was lost in the sea of pleasure caused by the Kuvira pummeling the pearl of pleasure deep inside of her over and over. The only indication Kuvira had grasped her core was the hot dribble of precum that leaked out of her tip from the firm pressure of the other woman’s grip.

Korra groaned wantonly as Kuvira’s thumb passed over her head in small circles, the backward thrusts of Korra’s ass against the pounding thrusts of Kuvira the only friction the water bender received from the iron grip Kuvira held her in. The wet slaps of Kuvira’s hips impacting into her were soon joined by a series of stinging slaps delivered by Kuvira’s hands even as she maintained a grip on her cock. Korra let out a feral roar from deep within her chest and began to push back into the pleasure Kuvira was providing in earnest as she disregarded any hint of modesty in her quest to finally reach the peak of the molten wave building inside of her. Kuvira read into the motion and grabbed Korra’s hip with a harsh grip that dug into the skin as she gave into a frenzied rhythm well out of the heavy, controlled thrusts that had brought Korra to the edge.

“You’re so fucking eager for me to cum in your ass, under all that false modesty and cutesy bullshit your just another whore that wants to be stuffed,” Kuvira growled in her ear as Korra felt her breasts begin to brush against her back. “Take it!”

Kuvira’s taunts turned into an animalistic growl as Korra clamped down on her cock in a shuddering typhoon of pleasure as Korra screamed in pleasure. It was not the gentle surfing wave she was used to when she pleasured herself, this was felt like a white-hot stream of water knifing through her core. Korra realized in her dimly aware state that Kuvira had slowed to jerky thrusts in between jets of liquid heat coiling through her insides. The realization that Kuvira was coming inside of her only made her own pleasure more intense, lengthened her moans and increased her own spillage into Kuvira’s glove.

“Good girl. Fuck, that felt nice,” Kuvira purred behind her, and for a moment Korra wondered if it was part of the act or if the genuine caring that had leaked into her tone was unintentional honesty.

The moment passed when Kuvira pulled out of Korra with a soft pop and a loud crack as she delivered one last strike to her upturned cheeks.

“I’m not even mad you ruined my gloves. It’s proof you’ve taken your first lesson very well. Whore,” Kuvira said.

With a flick of her wrist, Kuvira let the metal bands holding Korra to the bedframe and her own cock ring drop to the floor with a clang.

“I’m going to wash up, and I’d suggest you join me. When you can walk again, that is,” Kuvira said, opening a second set of doors on the opposite side off the bedroom.

Korra’s bliss addled brain couldn’t stop her from staring at the muscular back and ass of the woman who had just railed her until she had moved out of sight. Korra flopped onto the bed as she tried to catch her breath, and get her weak legs to stop twitching and carry her to the new location Kuvira had indicated. It took a humiliatingly long time, to get her aftershocks under control, long enough to wonder why she had not only orgasmed, but cum so hard that she blanked out the entire world. At her peak, she had blanked out any of the circumstances of why the powerfully built woman was fucking her, but now it came back to her in a cold rush. Kuvira had said in her note that she was going to call her cruel things, do cruel things, but why? Korra’s head whirled with the constantly shifting circumstances she found herself in. A part of her mind whispered once again whispered that if she let herself crash into unconsciousness, no one would blame her.

But she needed answers.

Forcing herself to stand, she staggered over to the room Kuvira had disappeared into.

Chapter Text

The metal door swung open to reveal the sole occupant of the room, a still naked Kuvira lounging in a pool of steaming water. She had her arms and legs splayed out to the sides, a towel slung around her neck and a wine glass in hand as smiled at Korra’s entrance. Several platters of delicate charcuterie lay behind her, as well as a bottle and a second glass of wine.

“Hello, Korra. Please, step inside,” Kuvira said.

As soon as Korra did so, the steel door behind her clanked shut with a lazy motion from the seated woman before her.

“You can relax. We’re not being watched here, and the room is soundproof,” Kuvira said. “We can talk freely.”

“Then I suppose I’m wondering why you let me into a room with a massive water feature,” Korra asked. “It seems like a tactical mistake.”

“Well, it’s rather simple. If you try to escape or do something even stupider, like attack me, even if you succeed in your action, you will have failed your purpose here. It would mean a temporary setback at best for my Earth Empire and a renewed war with the water nation, which your people would lose. Your chief wouldn’t send his daughter to be presumably killed by his enemies if he had any fight left in his warriors, no matter how much his brother wants to kill some mudheads,” Kuvira said.

“That’s not the word I would use,” Korra said.

“It’s the one he would use. The point is, I saw that you were willing to die for peace, I doubt you’ll doom your people to escape from hors d’oeuvres and light conversation,” Kuvira said.

“Is that what this is? Light conversation?” Korra asked.

“Yes. You can join me in the bath or not, but I would appreciate the opportunity to explain myself as much as I’m sure you would appreciate the opportunity to find out why you’re still alive, and our previous interaction,” Kuvira said.

Korra hesitated for a second, unsure of what she should do, before ultimately deciding to slide into the water across from Kuvira.

“See? I don’t bite,” Kuvira said.

“I have the marks to prove otherwise,” Korra said.

“That’s a good point,” Kuvira said.

Kuvira coolly filled the second wine glass as she addressed Korra again.

“Regardless, I mean you no more harm than you’ve already suffered. And I would like to apologize for that, it’s not exactly… my preferred method, of dealing with people,” Kuvira said.

“And what is your preferred method?” Korra asked.

“More consenting. And private,” Kuvira said.

“Then why go through the whole act, as your little note put it?” Korra asked.

“I’ve had too much time to rehearse this conversation, but I can’t think of a convincing reason you should believe me when I say what I’m about to, other than it would have been much easier all around to simply have you executed this afternoon and be done with the whole affair,” Kuvira said.

“Thanks, I suppose,” Korra said.

Kuvira winced, and Korra realized it was the first sign of weakness she had seen the other woman show.

“I truly do apologize, there was no other way. It was the only solution the Dai Li would accept, you understand. They wanted to torture you to death, or turn you into something even viler if they let you live, to the point it might have been better to let you die,” Kuvira said.

“Viler?” Korra asked.

“They have a brain washing program, and they use it with great enthusiasm with young women. It’s disgusting,” Kuvira said. “I can’t think of a punishment awful enough for it.”

“Then why not stop them? It’s your empire, after all,” Korra said.

“I need them, for now. They have the backing of the old royal bureaucrats, and unless I want the entire tax system, food shipments, and train system to shut down, I have to move slowly to replace them with loyalists. They’re wiling to hide behind starving children until they can get their figurehead Prince Wu back in charge,” Kuvira said. “Wine?”

“Yes. I suppose if you were going to kill me, you wouldn’t choose poison,” Korra said.

“Hardly,” Kuvira said, floating the wine cup towards her on the water, which Korra retrieved more quickly with a tendril of water.

“You said you picked an option the Dai Li would accept. Why?” Korra said.

“They only understand brutality, and they needed to see that I wasn’t weak. If I was willing to give mercy to my enemy’s daughter, I might hesitate dealing with them,” Kuvira said. “So I had to brutalize you, and they had to see.”

“And those men who blew themselves up today?” Korra asked.

“Suicide bombers. The Dai Li sends them to assassinate members of my regime,” Kuvira said.

“If they tried to assassinate you, wouldn’t that mean they’re not going to work with you?” Korra asked.

“They already hate me, but they allow me to control the bureaucrats so that I won’t move against them. They deny any association with the bombers, so if they succeed they can claim they didn’t assassinate me, I was simply removed by a lone wolf in a moment of turmoil. Then they could step in with enough legitimacy with the common people they could crush my movement towards modernity. If they simply killed me directly, even if they win the initial power struggle in Ba Sing Se they would face my same predicament when my supporters went into a guerilla war with them, a war they might not even win. So we’re in a race to see who can kill who without triggering a civil war, until we’re ready to make our final moves,” Kuvira said.

“So you put on an act to misdirect them,” Korra said.

“And hopefully gain an ally,” Kuvira said.

“Who?” Korra asked.

“You. If the Dai Li seizes power, they would force Wu to kill you to legitimate his power. Any peasant revolt that seized power would do the same, to draw a line to the monarchy’s problem solving. We’ve already covered what would happen if you flee. I’m your best hope in Ba Sing Se,” Kuvira said. “But now that the Dai Li thinks you have plenty of reason to hate me…”

“You want me to be your ace in the hole,” Korra said.

“Yes. Like I said, it would be a shame to waste a woman who is a productive resource for the Earth Empire,” Kuvira said.

Korra took another sip of the wine, and it had begun to burn pleasantly in her stomach.

“A more unyielding woman might look at your actions today and say that it seems like you were looking for a logical excuse to be merciful. That is seems like you traded a great deal of goodwill with the common people for a deception against your enemies that seems at best convoluted and an agent of unsure reliability,” Korra said.

“Well, aren’t you the little political philosopher,” Kuvira said.

“I’m not. I’ve just learned to read people,” Korra said.

“Think whatever you want about me, just as long as you remember what I can do to you,” Kuvira said. “What I did to you.”

“Shove with all your strength against a wave, and it will still crash around you,” Korra said.

“What?” Kuvira said.

“It’s a proverb. I don’t know why you want me to be afraid of you, and you can push me away all you want, but you’ll have to let someone in, eventually. No amount of earth bending can turn your heart to stone,” Korra said.

“The world did that,” Kuvira said.

“Then I’m sorry,” Korra said.

Kuvira seemed wrong footed by the apology, and her response died on her lips.

“You’re probably hungry. I don’t suppose they fed you on the way in to town,” Kuvira said.

“They didn’t,” Korra said, and as if on cue, her stomach growled.

Kuvira metal bent several plates of hors d’oeuvres across the pool. Korra began by trying to pick out several of minutely portioned foods politely before earning a snort from Kuvira.

“You can just fucking eat, you know. I’m not going to think you’re more of a bumpkin,” Kuvira said, but the insult had no venom in it, and Korra soon contented herself with stuffing her face with the delicious smorgasbord.

“I’ll send your compliments to the chef. Second best one in the Empire,” Kuvira said.

“Second best?” Korra asked.

“There is an old pirate chef in Zaofu who cooks to be kept in a more gilded cage as long as he provides beautiful works to consume. He’s the best,” Kuvira said. “He has to be.”

“You speak like you know him personally,” Korra said.

“I do. I grew up eating his food, during my time in Zaofu,” Kuvira said.

“Your parents were metal benders?” Korra asked.

Kuvira shifted uncomfortably.

“I’d rather not talk about my parents,” Kuvira said. “Besides, I’d like to know about you.”

“You don’t have a dossier on me?” Korra asked.

“There’s plenty that isn’t in your file. It’s not like there are a great number of water benders willing to share information on the royal family,” Kuvira said.

“Well, then you should know we’re not really a royal family, and I’m not really a princess. We don’t have a direct line of succession quite the same way as your royals. Yes, I was next in line as the only child of my father, but if the council didn’t have faith in my ability to lead someone else in my family could be selected, and if they didn’t have faith in any of our family they might even transfer the title of chief to someone outside of our family,” Korra said.

“You understand how that sounds like royalty with extra steps,” Kuvira said.

“It has some similarities. Less tyrants, though,” Korra said.

“Less control over your armed forces,” Kuvira said.

Korra shrugged.

“The irony is not lost on me,” she said.

“I suppose we’re all eating off of someone else’s table setting, and we’re just hoping we don’t choke,” Kuvira said.

“Not entirely. It seems like you’re not too afraid to change the table settings if they don’t suite you,” Korra said.

“How do you mean?” Kuvira said.

“You’re like me,” Korra said.

“I am,” Kuvira said.

“How is that even possible?” Korra asked.

“You do know the rest of the world is living in modernity, correct? That what used to be achievable only through water healing is perfectly possible for a fraction of the cost by non-benders at chemical plants? That not everything is solely reproduceable by a devotion to the so-called spiritual leaders?” Kuvira asked.

“You sound like an advertiser for the Sato corporation,” Korra said.

“Its hard to argue with results,” Kuvira said.

“I’d say,” Korra said before blushing.

“You would, would you?” Kuvira said, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean, it’s just, I agree. Does it make it hard?” Korra said.

“Makes what hard?” Kuvira purred.

“Being a ruler while trans! With the- the Dai Li trying to tear you down,” Korra said.

“We’re not the Fire Nation. It’s much worse that I’m a peasant, or an orphan, or critical of the monarchy,” Kuvira said.

“You’re an Orphan?” Korra asked.

“That’s… how do you know nothing about me?” Kuvira asked. “The sordid details are in any fish wrapper you’d like.”

“It might surprise you, but I didn’t have a ton of papers to read from the Earth Empire in the last 3 years,” Korra said. “The fine gentlemen who escorted me also didn’t offer me a very good selection.”

“I hope your journey here wasn’t too unpleasant all the same,” Kuvira said.

“Other than the specter of death at the hands of a mad dictator at the end, the trip itself was a rather pleasant ride through the countryside,” Korra said.

“Well, you’ve avoided the specter of death, but you do seem fairly deep in the lair of the mad dictator at the moment. As bad as you imagined?” Kuvira asked.

“Not really. A bit… disorienting, certainly. But you’re not what I imagined at all, and I can see that you’re trying your best with what you have,” Korra said.

“But’s still unpleasant to be dragged into it from your home,” Kuvira said.

“I knew it was a possibility growing up. Once Unalaq started attacking villages instead of sending tributes, the only reason my father didn’t throw him in a jail cell was because he knew the Earth Queen could have taken me at any time, and going Unalaq’s way might mean that we wouldn’t have to pay the blood price to her for breaking the treaty,” Korra said.

“It sounds like everything came up Unalaq’s way, then,” Kuvira said.

“I mean, his daughter is the Avatar, but it’s not like she came and helped him when he was fighting the Earth Kingdom,” Korra said.

“I meant that his brother paid the debt he wracked up, and he made quite an impression among the water tribe warriors. He made your father look rather weak, too,” Kuvira said.

“What are you saying?” Korra asked.

“That your uncle seems like he’s making ready to seize power away from your father,” Kuvira said.

“That’s crazy! He would never sell me out, sell out his own family like that,” Korra said.

“It’s not like the Avatar would come unseat him for doing something underhanded,” Kuvira said.

“Well- maybe, but- he’s my uncle! He knew me since I was a baby!” Korra said.

“Power comes to those who are willing to stoop down and pick it up,” Kuvira said.

Korra was silent as she felt her world flipping upside down once again.

“You seem like you have a lot to think about,” Kuvira said as she stood from the water.

When Korra caught sight of the glistening heat rolling off Kuvira’s well-muscled body as she moved her naked from into even plainer view, her thoughts were temporarily redirected to more carnal desires than the ennui that had been threatening to overtake her.

“I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to get a light workout in before bed. If you leave the plates in here, someone will be by to pick them up, and you’re already aware of where the bed is,” Kuvira said. “Feel free to wear any of the clothes you find in the drawers.”

“Thanks,” Korra mumbled.

Kuvira wrapped herself in a towel as she walked out another door.

“And Korra? Thank you for trusting my note,” Kuvira said.

“Thanks for not executing me,” Korra said.

“You ought to set a higher bar for our interactions,” Kuvira said. “Be seeing you, water girl.”

The steel door slammed shut behind Kuvira, and Korra was once again alone with her own thoughts.