CHAPTER 24

LET THE TORTUE BEGIN

JEN'S POV:

This was going from bad to worse. Maybe I'm dreaming this whole thing. If I just sleep on it the entire night and not wake up one moment, I'll wake up in my own bed and get ready for my day. This may be a good laugh I share with everyone else at the zoo hospital. Yeah, this isn't real. It's all just a dream. A silly old dream. When I woke up this morning, though, I saw that it was not a dream. I was still in the dungeon surrounded by the ninja. I saw a new person added to the group. The Tigarians must have raided their camp again and captured more people. That's it. I can't take this anymore. All I really wanted was for this to be a simple dream, but it can't even be that. I'm still trapped inside this place like I'm an animal. An animal that hates to be inside this cage all day, every day.

Everyone was starting to wake up. Zeah began mumbling in her sleep. I heard footsteps coming down the hall. They came here for us. More importantly, they came here for me. I know they'll force me to answer their questions. I had to figure out some way to escape from these hooligans. I need to get everyone else out of here. I know for a fact that Tigre sent someone out stating to bring the other two children. What was he planning on doing with them? Yesterday, I was actually serious when I asked that. I was tired of all the surprises and secrets. I wanted the truth. I wanted to know what was really going on.

The guards, which looked to be about a million of them, stood around our cells.

"The day has come," the guard with the key said, unlocking the door. Once he did, I tried to escape with my life, but they grabbed me before I could run off. "Don't even try, human. His Majesty has been waiting for this day for three hundred years."

"He deserves to wait for nothing," I said, "You can't make me answer his questions. I won't do it. The best thing to do now is to let me go."

"I've been put under direct orders to bring all of you to the throne room. Besides, you don't wanna miss the show that's about to perform."

I couldn't say nothing else. All I did was let him put the shackles on me. Everyone else was placed in the hands of these hairy furballs as well. I had to say something to get myself out of this mess. What could I do? Should I just talk to him in a cute way or something? Wait. That's actually not a bad idea. I'll flirt with the guy. I'm sure there things have a bit of a heart to them. They wouldn't even think about ignoring me when I try so hard to flirt and beg to be free.

It may not work, but it's worth giving a try. "Oh, guard, I absolutely adore the way you help take care of the castle."

"You do?" he asked.

"Of course I do. You know, now that I think about it, you deserve to be king a lot more than he does. Have you ever thought about that?"

"Well, no, I never really gave it a chance. I don't have the royal blood in me, so what's the point in even thinking about it?"

"I know that deep under those strong, muscular bones of yours, there's a place in your heart where you are begging to be king and rule your own people the way they should be ruled and treated."

"There are times when I do think about that. I wouldn't know the first thing about being a ruler. What would my first order of business be?"

"I think you can make that choice right now. You can let my friends and I go, along with those children, and make sure that you get what you want. Will you do that for not only me, but my friends as well?"

"Don't make me laugh, human. I know what you diabolical schemes are. You just fail at the first one. Let's lead them to the throne room."

What else could I do? I had no other plans that would work. That was the only one. These guys were counting on me to bail them out. I just know it. Well, I only know it from their minds. One of them was looking at me, though. It was Nya, the girl Jay dated when he still cared about me. I just gave her a look that showed her I was just a damsel in distress. All she did was give me a stern look and faced forward. Did I do something wrong? Did she know that I was the cause of all this? To be honest, I actually thought I was the cause of all this. I'm to blame. It's my fault. I know it when I see it.

Once we were inside the throne room, our bodies were chained and hooked to a giant piece of plank wood. Lucky for me, I was placed right next to Nya, who gave me another glare from before.

"I'm supposing that this was all my fault?" I asked.

"I'm not blaming you for the mess that's being caused right now," Nya said, "I'm blaming you for the changes Jay`s going through. Thanks to you, he's no longer the person he thought that he was."

"Haven't you taken the time to notice that maybe he started going through changes before we got back together?"

She hesitated, thinking as she gasped. She must have remembered something. "You're right. I can see everything now. We had a backyard celebration a few weeks ago. Jay was going through the changes since then. The day before, he was the Jay I knew he was, joking around and always being happy. The next day came by, and he started acting all serious about everything. I just didn't know what was going on. What made him change?"

"His past. Things happened when he was young. He was always picked on and called many things. His family and I were the only one's that could ever help him in life. After I left, that's when the changes for being a jokester and always happy all the time came into place. Once I came back, the seriousness came into view. That's just the way life is, Nya. Jay has changed for the better. Let's face it. You have yourself. You may have ended your relationship with Jay, but you've moved on and found someone else that kind of acts like him." I pointed towards Caleb, who's head was facing the floor. "Just remember this. Caleb is not a substitute. He's the person you found because you care about him like any girl would. Besides, he has the same mind as you. He's funny, intelligent, caring and is always there for you, no matter what. I know you two are perfect for each other. You were made for each other. We're all made for someone."

"You're right. I've been getting carried away for nothing. I'm sorry. The only thing we can blame now is the way life turns on us."

"I can definitely agree on that."

Suddenly, the trumpets blared across the room, introducing King Furball and his ridiculous soldiers. Tigers from all around were inside the throne room, keeping their eyes on the king that they so wonderfully adore. I almost threw up a bit in my mouth when I let that thought enter my mind. I saw the king stand on the platform in the room.

"Citizens from the villages of this beloved kingdom," Tigre shouted, "The day will be one of the most greatest days this land will ever see. This will be the day where we shall keep Ninjago in our grasp, for we have found the three jewels of the Felines." Applauds were heard from across the room. "With these jewels, we will placed them inside the fountain of Ninjago in exchange to not only rule it, but to form the new reign for the next three hundred years. Who will that lucky person be? Is it someone in this crowd that stands before me today? Is it any of these people that are chained? Is it any of the tortured children that you see now before your very eyes?" A curtain was moved out of the way as I looked at the children, gasping at the sights I saw. Cut, bruises, scrapes and scratches were covered on their bodies. Claw marks could be seen on their faces, arms and legs. Nick`s glasses were cracked in the left lends. His left arm was bruised up and swollen. Lloyd's eye was black and blue. Monica wasn't too bad compared to the rest of them, except for the horrified look on her face. Zelda`s ankle proved to be broken by the way she held it up. It was horrifying to hear the voice of that king again.

"This is what most of the humans will look like once our reign of torture ends. They will be our slaves under the hands of the new ruler. Who is that new ruler though? That's the question that we still haven't answered. Who could it be? Where is he? Is it possible that he's in this room right at this very moment? Could it be this man?" The curtain rose to reveal Jay, chained to the wall, looking worse than I've ever seen him before. So many ways to torture a man. His leg wasn't finished healing, but the cast was removed and I could see the bruise marks on there. Claw marks were formed on his forehead. His glasses were cracked on both sides, causing his vision to be blurry. His wrist was swollen so I knew it had to be sprained. It was horrifying to see him chained like that. Awful. Just awful. Tigre`s voice was heard again. "The jewels may be able to tell us who it could be, but I already know who it is. These people thought that I was planning to destroy him all this time. They were wrong, though. My plan was to make him evil and ruler of all the tigers, for he is known to be the great-great-great grandson. After three hundred years, our new king has arrived."

Jay? The new king? The stories never mentioned anything about finding a new king. It stated that the man who was bitten by the old king would become the new king. Was Jay bitten? I decided to find out for myself by drawing the crowds attention to me.

"Stop!" I shouted, everyone's eyes on me. The plan was working.

"What do you want?" Tigre growled.

"Did you bite him?"

"What is that suppose to prove?"

"The story states that if the old king bites someone, they are known to be the new king. My question is this. Did you bite him?"

"The stories that you read are not historically accurate. Yes, I was bitten by the old king, but that was not how I was transformed into the king I am now. The jewels stated that I would become the next new ruler. That's how I became the next new king. This time, instead of putting the jewels inside the fountain and making him the new ruler, he has to go through three different test." He turned his attention back to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to begin the first test. To prove that this is our new king, we will put one of these people out onto the platform, where they will be face to face with me. I will forced this young girl to answer three of my questions, and if she doesn't, I'll let the next royal blood in line decide what to do with her. Bring the girl!"

They unlocked the chains from my arms. I was place on the platform, looking at the red eyes of the king himself.

THE DAY OF TORTURING HAS FINALLY ARRIVED. THE CHILDREN ARE HURT. MOST OF THE NINJA ARE CHAINED. NOW THE TIGARIANS HAVE THEM IN THEIR GRASP AND PLAN TO DO HORRIFYING DESTRUCTION IN THEIR EYES.

JAY HAS BEEN FOUND, BUT NOT THE WAY YOU WOULD THOUGHT. I KNEW THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN. LOOKS LIKE JAY HAS TO GO THROUGH THREE TEST IN ORDER TO BE KING. I HOPE HE DOESN'T PASS THEM. WHAT IF HE DOES? WHAT WILL HAPPEN THEN?

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