Chapter Nine:
Nya tugged at her skirt, a frown on her face as she vaguely wondered why Coronzo had requested her to visit him in the middle of her fitting for the wedding gown that she most definitely will not be wearing. Nya couldn't help the tiny smile that crossed her face upon recalling that he wasn't the first person to try and force her to marry him. Nadahkan was defeated and his plans ruined by Jay, Kai and their friends. They will save her again; she just has to buy them time.
Turning around the corner she approached her father's old office, where Coronzo now sat smugly behind the antique greniary wood desk. The tree was a common one on Archia, though it couldn't grow for some reason on other planets, no one knew why though. Folding her arms, she eyes Coronzo's feet propped up on the desk.
"Papa says it is bad manners to prop your feet on someone else's furniture." Nya glared at Coronzo, hoping he got the reminder that the desk did not belong to him at all.
Coronzo rolled his eyes as he pushed a button on the keyboard that he was balancing in his lap precariously, clearly without the balance required of the ninja. "Yeah, but King Ray is dead and as long as your people will listen to me without double-checking everything I say with your females' ability to see lies, then your brother is dead too." Dropping his feet to the ground, he leaned across the desk to look at her. "And we can't have the helpless lonely princess rule her people by herself, now can we?"
Nya stumbled backwards, shock slipping in as her brain caught hold of something that he had said. "No one outside of our community knows about our ability to detect lies… how do you know?"
"I'm not telling you." Coronzo folded his arms smugly, a smirk on his face.
Nya scowled, crossing her arms across her chest as she wondered what made her leave the safety of the Temple without any weapons once again. "Tell me how you know."
The Command appeared to work, Coronzo opened his mouth to say something…only to freeze and snap his mouth shut, a grin crossing his face. "Sorry…but I am immune to Commands. Really wish we could stay and chat more, but I am sure that the seamstresses I brought with me from Galatia are waiting for you on your opinion on what your wedding dress should look like."
Gritting her teeth, Nya stormed off, disappearing quickly down the halls to her room. As soon as the door closed behind her, she slid to the ground, mixed emotions leaping out of her fingertips. Finally, unsure if she should laugh or cry, she burst into laughter. "Wait till Kai hears about this…" pressing her fingers to her lips, she shook her head in amusement. "Coronzo you idiot, I'm not some idiot that won't connect the dots… only certain people can be immune to Commands, and none of them are Galatians."
~Back with Kai~
"Argh…are we there yet?" Jay whined as he leaned against his chair, staring up at the ceiling.
"For the one millionth time….no, we are not there yet." Kai gritted out through his clenched teeth.
Silence fell upon the elemental masters and their allies for a second, before Neuro spoke up. "What about now?"
"No!" Kai was starting to lose patience with his friends, two weeks of sitting in the spaceship was starting to drive everyone up the walls.
Misako picked up one of her scrolls, her brow creased in worry. "I still am not sure what is the proper way to act around your ruler."
Kai winced, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "We don't have any etiquette about that kind of thing. Just be yourself, you'll do fine."
"Are you sure?" "Are we there yet?"
Kai jerked the steering wheel suddenly, throwing everyone that wasn't buckled up against the far wall. "Yes, I am positive!" Yanking the steering wheel up suddenly, he pushed the button to cut off the engines. "And we're here."
"Really?" Jay scrambled to the window to stare at the lush green planet that was sprawled before them.
At least Kai remembered it being a lush green, but the plant life appeared to have been stinted since he was there last. "Strange, looks like the wildlife isn't as prominent as it was when we left Archia."
Zane slipped his hands into his pockets, tilting his head to the side. "Kai…beyond your observation about the wildlife, we need a place to stay and gather information so we can effectively rescue your sister and communicate with your ruler."
Kai winced again, before striding out of the ship. "I know someone who can and will help us."
"Are you sure?"
Kai ignored the question, heading in the direction he knew a certain house was in…
…..
Kai frowned as he noticed that the entire neighborhood looked like it belonged to the poor districts in Ninjago, something unheard of on Archia since they prided themselves on treating everyone fairly. Pushing that thought to the side, he approached the house that used to be the most intimidating building on the street, but now was nothing more than a shack. Lifting a hand up, he knocked quickly. "Chiniago? Are you home?"
The door swung open as the terribly dressed, definitely malnourished captain of the guards answered his call. "Kai…" He started to bend his knees, only for Kai to hold a hand out to him, stopping him from completing the bow.
"Ne me traite pas comme des rois. Mes compagnons ne le savent pas et je veux que ça reste ainsi le plus longtemps possible." Kai spoke quickly, desperation edging his voice. "We're here to save Nya from Coronzo. You by chance don't know when the wedding is, do you, old friend?"
"Tomorrow at noon. Votre Altesse, nous avons besoin d'un roi et c'est vous. Les gens se feront un plaisir de vous voir enfin couronnés." Chiniago tucked his hands into his pockets.
Kai ran his fingers through his hair, glancing back at his companions, all of whom looked interested in what Chiniago was saying. "Je ne pense vraiment pas que je suis prêt à être roi pour le moment."
Chiniago smiled, placing a hand on Kai's shoulder similar to how a father would do it. "Je ne suis pas d'accord. Vous êtes revenu sans que personne ne vous dise de le faire ... et c'est dans vos yeux. Vous êtes plus que prêt." Looking up at the others behind Kai, he gestured for them to enter his home. "I do not have many things, but you can all stay here for the night."
Kai started to enter the living room, before turning suddenly to face Chiniago. "The Couronne d'Archia, where is it?"
"Coronzo has it. Rumor is that he is planning on wearing it to the wedding." Chiniago responded quickly.
Kai placed his hand on his sword's hilt, his mind reeling. "Maybe we should return it to its rightful owner when we crash that wedding tomorrow."
Chiniago smiled, pleased with what Kai was willing to do. "Of course… our people have been waiting years for it to return to toi."
Confusion crowded everyone's faces as they entered into the room, wondering if they were going to listen to Kai and to them a random old person discuss things in their native tongue all night…
A/N: Done! Hmm… what did Nya figure out about Coronzo that makes her want to laugh? And the wedding is the next day! Nya is going to wear a Jay-inspired wedding dress, don't worry. Also… the item that Kai was asking after may or may not have magical powers but only works for the true king of Archia…
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SKyTalon