Chapter 1
"NO!" A young boy shouted in alarm, sitting up in bed a moment afterwards.
The door to the boy's room opened.
"Jassson? Are you alright my sson?" The boy's concerned mother asked from the doorway.
Jason took a couple of breaths, looking around. "I had a bad dream."
His mother walked into the room. Moonlight shimmered from the window onto the navy-blue walls as she navigated her way around the toys on the floor to her son's bedside.
"What about?" She asked him quietly.
Her son hesitated then said in a trembling sort of way. "...P-people were mad at me because of m-my arm."
"Your arm?" His mother asked, her eyes glancing at her son's right arm then she continued speaking in her calm, accented voice. "...You mean your sscales?"
Her son nodded, upset. His mother put her light-blue hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"T-they were going to hurt me." Her son said.
His mother frowned for a moment then smiled.
"You are ssafe here, my sson," she said. "No one iss going to hurt you here."
"But- but what about at school?" Her son asked. "...Everyone there says I'm a freak. They tease me! They say snakes are monsters!"
"Do you believe any of what they ssay?" His mother asked him gently.
Her son was frozen, too ashamed to nod or shake his head. His mother sat on the edge of his bed.
"...Sserpentine were once enemiess of Ninjago" She said calmly. "They were cruel and viciouss... They sshowed no mercy to the humanss of Ninjago. ...But there are ssome who are different than them, like you and I. And mosst of our kind, the Illussiobrai."
"But.. But if the Illusii- Illusioo- Illusiobrai are good. ...Then why are they scared of us?" Her son asked, quietly.
His mother bit her lip, trying to find a way to explain these things to her young child.
"...Ssome do not believe that the Illussiobrai are good. ...They think we are evil ...Ssome look at us and ssee we are different than themsselvess. ...And they laugh at that... Or they are sscared and frightened of usss and laugh to make themsselvess feel better."
Tears appeared in her son's eyes as he looked at her.
"...But why? ...I don't understand." He asked.
His mother frowned. She couldn't find a response. She didn't have one. Her heart sank as she saw her son start crying softly.
"Ssshh. It's okay. Everything will be alright, you'll ssee," his mother said comfortingly, and then she suddenly smiled as she thought of something. "I know ssomething that will make you feel better. There'ss sstill ssome cake left. Do you want ssome?"
She finally saw some relief in her child's eyes as they lit up in excitement.
"Really?" He asked, wiping the tears from his eyes.
His mother nodded.
"Cake?!" A different young voice squeaked.
Jason and his mother looked across the room and watched Jason's fraternal twin brother, Cole fall out of his bed. Then he got up and raced over to them.
Their mother blinked at Cole. "Have you been awake thiss whole time?"
Cole looked sheepish. "Maybe?" He grinned. "Can I have some cake too?"
His mother sighed then nodded with a smile.
