Hey Everyone! Hmmmmm, let's see...well this is (obviously) the beginning of a Ninjago fanfic. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING (except the idea for this story)

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Cold...that's all I felt as I silently traversed through the forest. My toes felt numb as they padded through the soft snow, despite my thick leather boots. The nearly frozen appendages that were my fingers held my bow within the death grip of my left hand.

My coal colored eyes scanned the forest, trained to spot the slightest movement. The tiniest sounds were being caught by my ears. There was nothing. No wind to rustle the leafless branches. No bird singing its winter tune. No babbling brook snaking through the trees. The only sounds were my quiet breath and the crunch of snow when I took a step. The only movement I caught was my breath forming clouds of white in the frigid air. All was peaceful, but it was unnerving. I haven't seen anything since noon when I shot an unsuspecting squirrel, its body now hanging from my belt.

That's when I heard it! SNAP! A tree branch above my head gave a sickening crack, shortly followed by a handful of pops and snaps. My eyes shot upward, but the darkness of twilight prevented me from seeing what my newfound prey was. My hands were quick to retrieve an arrow and notch it into my bow, ready to attack.

Suddenly, a dark figure landed at the foot of the tree. The majority of his face was hidden by a hood and thick scarf, but just one look into those black eyes and I smiled. "You broke my concentration Enzo. Plus you probably scared off any game in the area."

He lowered his scarf and sighed, "Willow, you and I both know there hasn't been anything all day."

"Not true. I got a squirrel around lunch time," I shot back, smirking at my brother.

"And why did you run off like that? I had to spend the whole day looking for you," he returned sternly, his mouth set in a hard-line.

I gave him a weak smile before saying, "I'm sorry, but I thought that I would find something if I went deeper into the woods."

"Well you scared me. One minute you were there, and the next you were gone." Looking up into his eyes, I saw worry and fear evident in his gaze. "You know as well as I do that it's not safe."

I rested my hand on his shoulder and replied, "Again, I'm sorry. Next time I'll let you know before I 'run off.'" I tried to walk past him and continue through the forest, but Enzo placed his hand firmly on my shoulder.

"No, it's getting dark. We should be heading home, incase any of them show up."

I rolled my eyes at him. "C'mon, just a few more minutes. It'd be a waste to leave with such a small catch, considering we've been out all day." I gave him my most pleading look, hoping he would reconsider.

No such luck, Enzo simply turned me around and began leading me in the direction of the village. "No, we're going home. You know Gran doesn't like us out after dark, and the sun has almost completely set. Besides, it's like you said, 'I probably scared off any game in the area.'"

I glanced over at him, seeing a brief spark of playfulness in his eyes. But as soon as I caught it, his stoney exterior returned. And here I thought he was gonna start acting like old times, before... I stopped the thought right there before it continued, already feeling myself get choked up.

The wind began to pick up about half-way home, rustling the branches above. It bit at my cheeks, making them red from the cold. Enzo noticed and handed me his scarf, which I took graciously.

"That's why Gran tells us to bring them you know."

"Yeah, I know. I forgot mine this morning." He gave a soft grunt in response and the conversation ended there.

When the night-time gloom fully set in, I inched closer to my brother. I hated being in the woods after dark. That's when they come out to hunt, and I don't feel like becoming a part of the food chain.

I instantly felt more at ease when I saw a light in the distance. As Enzo and I approached it, the light began to divide into the pinpricks of windows, slowly growing with every step we took. Gran's gonna be mad with us when we get to the inn. I thought grimly as we entered the village.

By now it was snowing, the snow flakes blanketing the ground in pure white. I stuck my tongue out, letting the frozen crystals melt in my mouth. Enzo just raised an eyebrow at me, but remained silent. The streets were deserted, not a soul in sight. The only sign of life were the street lamps glowing in the town square, not to mention the occasional cat that slunk by. Everyone must have either turned in for the night or gone to the inn for a last-minute drink. I really hope there aren't many people at the inn, it would just make things worse with an audience.

A warm glow emitted from the windows when we arrived at the inn. I smiled at the sweet smell of warm bread. It wafted through the air, making my mouth water and my stomach churn with hunger.

Enzo looked over at me and said, "Don't expect to get any of that bread tonight, she'll probably be angry."

"Yeah, I know, but it smells so good!" I groaned, wanting nothing more than the source of the delicious aroma that danced around my nostrils.

He chuckled slightly and replied, "C'mon, we better go inside and face the music."

I sighed and followed him through the old wooden door. As soon as we were inside, the outside cold melted from my bones. The low crackle of the fire and the gentle clink of glasses was the soundtrack of the small but cozy inn. There were a few customers, some at the bar, others sitting around the fire. It seemed rather peaceful, until the door to the kitchen opened.

With her graying hair tied back in a loose bun, our grandmother walked through the door. A tray of that deliciously scented bread was in her arms, the crust a golden brown in the warm light. She spotted us immediately, almost dropping the tray in her surprise. She placed it on the counter and rushed over to us so quickly that Enzo and I had barely enough time to remove our coats before she was in front of us. Her sudden movement made a few of the patrons look up, but they quickly returned to their drinks once they realized it wasn't anything serious.

"Where have you two been? It's well after dark!" She exclaimed, worry in her pale grey eyes.

"Sorry Gran, Willow disappeared and I spent most of the afternoon tracking her down."

Her eyes were suddenly on me and immediately changed from worried to angry. "And where did you run off to, young lady? You know that you and your brother are supposed to stick together when you're out hunting."

"I didn't go far Gran. I just went a little deeper into the woods. There wasn't much game today, and I thought I could find some if I went past our usual hunting grounds."

She sighed and replied, "Yes, well while you were stomping around the forest, your brother was looking high and low for you, wasting time. You two could've been here, helping me with the customers. It's been busy today, and I really needed the help."

"Busy? But it's never busy. Why today?" Enzo asked, obviously as perplexed as I was. We rarely have a huge crowd, just the locals from around town, maybe a priest or two from the Northern Temple, and the occasional traveler.

"Yes, practically everyone came in today," Gran answered, her initial anger beginning to melt, "We have some rather unique visitors staying with us this evening, and people were coming in all day just to try to get a glimpse of them."

Curious, I glanced up at the staircase that lead up to the rooms on the second floor that we rented out to travelers. I wonder who's so important that the whole town came in today? I thought as I began to make my way to the stairs. Just as I placed my hand on the railing, I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Gran grinning at me.

"Ah, ah, ah, you're not going up there now. They're asleep by now, and I won't have my dear grand-daughter be rude and barge in on them in the middle of their slumbers."

I rolled my eyes at her and said, "Alright Gran, I get it. No snooping around."

She led me into the kitchen, took my bow and quiver, and handed me a dirty glass and a dishrag from the sink. "Besides, since you were late in getting home, you have to clean all the dirty glasses before you go to bed."

"What? But Gran, these are going to take all night!" I protested, looking at the mountain of filthy cups that were piling in the sink.

"Then you better get started. If you had been here earlier today, you'd have had them done by now."

"But what about Enzo? He was late too!"

"Oh, don't worry, he'll be scrubbing the bar and the tables until they shine." Just as she was about to leave the kitchen, she turned back and stated, "And get that squirrel off of your belt and into the meat locker before it spoils. We don't need to be getting people sick with rotten meat."

Once she opened the door I looked at the sink and groaned, "Ugh, this is going to take forever."

Before I began my arduous task, I made my way through the cluttered kitchen towards the back door. I practically sprinted through the frozen air to our meat locker in the backyard. Inside I was quick in getting the squirrel hung on one of the hooks before rushing back into the warm kitchen.

I slowly walked over to the sink and began scrubbing the filthy cups, be ridding them of leftover alcohol and the spit of their drinkers. It didn't take long for my hands to become soapy and wrinkled from the dishwater. It also didn't take much time for the room to smell of overly scented dishwater soap. The smell was like concentrated flowers mixed with cheap perfume. It was awful, I had to practically hold my breath to keep from breathing in the head-ache inducing scent.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I finished with my chore. I exited the kitchen and was shocked to find my brother slumped in a chair, fast asleep. His face was placed against one of the tables, a small trickle of drool coming from his mouth. "Poor Enzo, he must have fallen asleep hours ago," I muttered as I grabbed his coat from the coat rack and draped it over his shoulders. I ruffled his messy snow-white hair before heading upstairs to my room.

I tried to be quiet as I ascended the staircase to the third floor where Gran, Enzo, and my rooms were, but the floor boards were creaking with every step I took. Swiftly, I passed Gran's room and into mine at the end of the hallway. Inside, I instantly changed into a long-sleeved shirt and some sweat pants, leaving my clothes fall to the floor, waiting to be placed in the hamper tomorrow when I woke up.

As I crawled under my thick, quilted blanket, my mind wandered and began thinking about our mysterious guests. I racked my brain, trying to think of every celebrity in Ninjago I knew of, and began to make some guesses. Most of my ideas were ruled out on the basis that either Gran or Enzo or myself would've known before they'd shown up of their arrival.

Actually, I did manage to think of one group of people who the guests could possibly be, but it was a preposterous thought. What purpose would they have of coming? There was no known danger in the village. That would be their only reason for coming. Suddenly, my eyes grew heavy with sleep. But before I allowed my self to enter the realm of dreams, as single thought rang through my mind, There's no way it could be the Ninja...

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Well, there's the first chapter. That's all for now!