dragonsatdawn: Thanks for the review! I reckon the strength of an element also depends on who's wielding it, and maybe even their personality and stuff. Kai supposedly has stronger fire than Ray did; maybe Cole's Earth power manifests differently from Lilly's because he's different himself. I have him pinned as much gentler and more nurturing.
Well thanks! Haha, I didn't have much choice there—they explicitly showed that there was a different Master of Earth during the Serpentine Wars. And I guess it's not impossible for there to be two masters of an element at once, but since they have the whole hereditary thing going, I assumed that guy was Lilly's dad. The Master of Earth was also conspicuously absent during the Time Wars, which lines up with the idea that he was disgraced and Lilly was either not born yet or a child.
Lou? Well, read this chapter and tell me. ;)
ForeverFictional: Thanks! I have the worst feeling I accidentally stole that line from somewhere, but unless and until I figure out what that source was, it'll have to go uncredited. :P
kordifm: Thanks, glad you're enjoying!
JustRandom: Verrrrry well then! I'll try to take it easy on the dysfunction and cruelty if I can. ;P And no worries, my writing method is usually that on any given day, I'm inspired for one particular story and completely dried up for all the others, so all I gotta do is wait for the "write Lloyd with mints" story day to roll around. :P
Only summer?! You poor person, you have all my sympathy . . .
Yeah, you're probably onto something there. I think it was partly pining for Misako, but also partly being lowkey bitter towards Garmadon, but also missing him, and then all the other exhausting and depressing things that Wu probably has to deal with regularly. Ninjago's always boiling over.
Sure, we can blame the mind critter. XP Or maybe it's just the kind of person Lilly is, or maybe it's tangled up in her shame about being an Earth master. She hates herself so much she doesn't want anyone to love her and she can't give love back.
Mmm, cookie valleys. :P
Very-very briefly there will be a mention of Lloyd! He's probably not even gonna show on-screen. As to Lou, though . . .
That is true. XD
Well, she'd probably be busy raising Cole! He's physically a good bit older than Lloyd, so he would have been a kid at the time Lloyd was born.
Thanks for the review!
For a change, Lilly allowed herself to very cautiously hope. Granted, her research with Misako had still been fruitless. But after some discussion with the elders in her life, she had decided to try changing things up. Instead of roving around defending villages, she had gone to try her luck in Ninjago City. She had never been there before, and she found that the sprawling, seething mass of buildings and people stirred something within her. The mind-creature was gibbering and grumbling constantly in the back of her head, but she could almost ignore it. She was overwhelmed and she loved it.
She had been given to believe that there was a lot of crime in the city, so she'd have plenty of work to do. However, she didn't yet have an understanding of how bad neighborhoods worked, nor was she wise to typical city crimes like pickpocketing. She spent an entire day wandering around the city wondering why nobody was overtly mugging or enslaving anyone else.
Near nightfall, tired, hungry, and just a little discouraged, she stumbled into a restaurant. She'd heard of these, at least. At first she tried to just barge in and pick a table, like at the little inns she'd eaten at in some villages, and was mortified when the restaurant's maitre d' pulled her back. The greeter looked flustered, but was polite enough. Upon learning that Lilly didn't have a reservation and would be dining alone, she led her to a cozy table off to one side.
Lilly followed meekly behind, her face red. She thought that the maitre d' looked at her very strangely, but she assumed that was only because she had acted so utterly clueless. She was relieved to find that the maitre d' only seated her and left her, promising that a waiter would be along soon.
However, after she had recovered her composure enough to look around curiously, she realized that everyone else in the restaurant was giving her side-eyes as well. Technically, this wasn't unusual. She was used to getting stares whenever she came to a new village—so many of them were unused to strangers. However, those stares usually abated when she got to an inn. Normally by that point, somebody would come up to her and say something like, "new to these parts, Miss? What brings you here?"
Here, however, things seemed to be backwards. She hadn't noticed too much attention while she was out walking the streets. But now, instead of approaching her, everyone seemed almost afraid of her. People stared, but when she tried to meet their eyes and smile invitingly, they immediately looked away, as if unhappy she'd caught them looking. Why didn't anyone come over and say hello?
The waiter who arrived also seemed to be regarding her strangely. He took her order without comment, however. It was only later, when he brought her the food, that he casually remarked, "So, are you going to a historic reenactment, ma'am?"
"Reenactment?" Lilly looked up from hungrily surveying her food, bewildered. "What do you mean?"
"Oh." The waiter looked embarrassed. "I just—I was wondering about your costume, ma'am."
"Costume?" Lilly's voice might have cracked a little. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she just stared up at the waiter in confusion. The waiter, looking mortified himself, edged away without another word and vanished.
Lilly tried to make sense of this. "Costume"? "Reenactment"? Was there something strange about her armor? Of course, she knew the average civilian didn't go clanking around with plate metal over their shoulders, but armor was completely normal for warriors. Every farmer or tradesman who saw her instantly knew her business.
Only then did she start to pay attention to what everyone else was wearing. With a sudden yawning emptiness in her gut, she realized that nobody here was dressed at all like the country garb she was used to. Perhaps she had vaguely noticed, while wandering the city, that the people were dressed differently; but she hadn't really brought it into conscious thought. It was entirely normal to see variations in dress between villages, and she had stopped paying attention to clothes that looked a little different.
But here? The clothes looked a lot different. No simple shirts, no rough linen, no shabby belts, not even any gi or robes. The men all wore suits, and the women wore elegant dresses. She saw makeup and jewelry the likes of which she couldn't have imagined.
And here she was, dressed up like a medieval knight, with two giant blades still strapped to her hips. People must think she was a freak.
Swallowing, Lilly fought off the urge to slide down in her chair until she vanished under the tablecloth. Her first impulse was to get up and leave, but after a second she realized she had already ordered her food. If she immediately asked for her bill, that would just mean even more humiliation.
Setting her teeth, she turned back to her meal. A second ago she had been starving and thought the new dish looked incredible, but now her appetite was completely shot. She forced down a couple of spoonfuls, tasting very little. All the while she was painfully aware that her nervousness must be visible, and she must be getting judged even more. What an awful day this was turning out to be. Maybe she wasn't cut out for defending the city.
A few miserable minutes in, she was suddenly aware of the lights dimming. Her head snapped up, her already-anxious heartbeat shooting into even higher overdrive. Was this some kind of attack?
After a second she realized that the people around her were clapping, and a lot of spotlights were suddenly focused on a wooden stage off to one side.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" called a voice. "We are proud to present, tonight's entertainment: The Royal Blacksmiths! Give them a big hand!"
There was more cheering and applause. Dimly Lilly realized that this must be some kind of show. Mostly she was just grateful for the cover of darkness. Feeling a little better, she turned to her meal with more gusto.
Just as she was starting to realize that this stuff tasted really good, a lilting melody began to play. Glancing from the corner of her eye, Lilly saw four men in black pinstripe suits parade onto the stage, waggling boater hats. Then she suddenly snapped around and gave the stage her full attention. These guys. Especially that third guy in the line . . . oh. Wow.
The quartet was already crooning, some jaunty little piece that went "Tree of love, I wish that you could see my love," or something like that. If Lilly had been paying attention to the meaning, she would have thought the lyrics were rather ridiculous, but she was not paying any attention to the meaning. She couldn't stop staring at the quartet. They were so fresh and dapper in their suits. Their hair was fastidiously styled. Their eyes shone in the bright light, their smiles were dazzling, their voices were beautiful. She felt like she was in another world.
That third guy, especially. His hair was a little longer than the others', curling lightly over his shoulders. Even at this distance Lilly thought she could tell that his eyes were a beautiful kind soft brown.
The music ended much too soon. Lilly applauded rapturously, not even noticing that her clapping lasted longer than everyone else's. The quartet doffed their hats and gave sweeping bows, then stepped down into the audience as the lights came on, holding out their hats for spare change. Lilly saw them nodding and exchanging what looked like goodbyes as they split up, apparently planning to go their separate ways now that the concert was over.
She sat tight and tried to will the long-haired one to walk her way. Fate was on her side, for once. He came tolerably close. Lilly tried to call hello, nearly choked on her own spit, then at the last second pulled herself together.
"Excuse me," she called, waving. The man paused and looked her way, and she nearly forgot how to talk all over again.
"Yes?" He came over. He was still a little out of breath from dancing, a lock of damp hair curling on his forehead. "Can I help you?"
"No, I—" Lilly realized she was blushing furiously. She dropped her gaze to the table shyly. "I just wanted to say, I . . . I really liked your singing. I've never heard anything like it before."
"Oh." The man gave a bemused but pleased smile. "Well, thank you! I, er—like your costume."
"Oh—" Lilly remembered too late. Before she could even ask for death to take her, the man had given her a polite half-bow and hurried on.
Despite her mortification Lilly couldn't help looking after him. It was only after she saw him leave out a side door that she groaned and sank her head into her hands. Perfect first impression.
She was sure enough staying in the city, though.
It only took a few days for Lilly to get the hang of dressing like a city dweller. She still carried the swords, because come on, that was her area of expertise, but otherwise she did good in sundresses with bloomers. In the evenings she wore a gown she had borrowed from Misako.
It also took a few days for her to make contact with the handsome long-haired quartet member again.
"Evening, ma'am," he said when she waved.
"Nice to see you again." She had a bad feeling that she was simpering, but she was beyond controlling or caring.
"Again?" He looked awkward. "I'm sorry, I . . . uh . . . "
"We talked the other night," said Lilly, blushing. "The, uh . . . the lady with the costume?"
"Oh!" His eyes lit up in recognition. Then he smiled a little at Lilly's flustered manner. "Yes, I remember that. Why the change?"
"Oh, well—More appropriate, you know? . . . " mumbled Lilly.
"Ah." He chuckled again, but Lilly thought it was sympathetic. "Well, I'm Lou. Brookstone. Pleasure to meet you."
"Lilly," she breathed. "Likewise."
"Lilly. What a charming name," he said. "I could write poetry for a name like that."
Do not faint, Lilly ordered herself.
"So, are you a regular here now?" continued Lou.
"I will be as long as you're still here," said Lilly, before she could think better. Lou's eyes widened. For a second he looked put out, and Lilly died on the inside, thinking she had creeped him out. After a moment, though, he lapsed into a smile of hesitant understanding.
'I . . . see," he said, suddenly shy himself. "Well. Er . . . " He looked around the restaurant helplessly, as if searching for the correct thing to say. "Would you like if I joined you for dinner tomorrow? After the performance."
"I would love that," Lilly somehow managed.
"Then I shall look forward to the evening." Without warning Lou took up her hand and kissed it gallantly, then tipped his hat and scurried off, probably startled by himself. Lilly stared into the middle distance, one hand over her thumping heart. Was this really happening? Was she awake? Was she alive?
She was going to have dinner with a man straight out of her dreams.
It was only some time later, she realized the mind-creature never made any threats against Lou. She didn't even question it. He was too gorgeous a man, and she had too gorgeous feelings for him.
"I really did like your costume, you know." The first dinner was going beautifully. Lou could make any conversation delightful. "Were you going to a performance of some sort?"
"Oh." Lilly laughed shyly, adjusting the unfamiliar, fancier hairstyle that Misako had fussed into place that afternoon. "No, no. That was my old work outfit."
"Work outfit?" Lou chuckled disbelievingly. "What are you, a knight?"
"Well, yes," said Lilly. "A roving warrior."
"Oh." His eyebrows hitched upwards, and for a moment he seemed lost for words. "You fight?"
"When needed, yes." She unsheathed one of her blades slightly, so he could see it.
"Oh goodness." He looked faint. "Have you ever used that?"
Lilly thought of what a time she'd been having cleaning her blades in a city with little grass or straw.
"Of course I use it. Every day."
" . . . Oh my."
He looked a little ill. Lilly put her blade away, immediately regretting this entire topic. Of course, he was a delicate artistic type! He didn't want to hear about gory sword action. Twenty minutes into the first date and she was already scaring him off, shame on her.
"Never mind," she said. "Tell me what your job is like."
Lou seemed a little evasive. Lilly got the sense that the job wasn't as romantic as it looked, and he didn't want to admit it.
Still, he could spin a beautiful story, and he had a keen artistic sensibility. Lilly was deeply grateful for that. She could talk with him about poetry, beauty, nobility; all the things that would get her blank looks, jeers, or at best disinterest if she brought them up with other people. She had learned long ago that in the real world, people didn't have long flowery discussions about love like they did in knight stories. Lou was almost an escape from that. He seemed more fairytale than reality. He actually wrote love poems for her; even at her most naive she had assumed nobody in real life actually did that.
For their one-month anniversary, he said he had a surprise for her. He took her out in the evening, refused to say where they were going, and had her walk the last half-block with her eyes closed. Although she was unused to the vulnerability of shuffling along blind, trusting that she wouldn't be led into a lamppost or manhole, she didn't peek. She liked the sensation of his hand tight in hers, drawing her gently along. The feeling of trusting someone was unfamiliar, but nice.
As they rounded a corner, Lou said "you can open your eyes now, sweet." She obeyed, and drew in her breath. The city park was decked all over in strings of electric lights. These were still a fairly new invention at the time, certainly not anything Lilly had seen while slogging around the wilds of Ninjago. Even to a more jaded city-dweller, the effect was magical: streams of light draped over benches and gazebos, pinpoints twinkling as the wind swayed through tree branches.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lou drew an arm around her. "It reminded me of you."
Lilly squeezed his hand, her throat tightening. She was unused to being this happy.
One evening, as they ate together after the Blacksmiths' nightly performance, Lou seemed pensive and distracted.
"Is something the matter?" asked Lilly, placing a hand over his.
"I suppose, in a sense." Lou smiled at her sadly. "I was just thinking about next week. The Royal Blacksmiths are going out for a tour of the surrounding towns. I won't be back here for months."
"You're leaving?" Lilly's mouth went dry. "So soon?"
"I'm afraid so . . . It's very important for the Royal Blacksmiths to get broader exposure, you know. It was our manager's decision, it's out of my control." He pressed his hands over hers, looking earnestly worried. "You understand, don't you, sweet?"
Lilly nodded silently, staring down at their hands intertwined on the table.
The week passed quickly. The following Monday, she vowed to stay far away from the restaurant where the Royal Blacksmiths usually performed. She had said her goodbyes to Lou the previous night, as they both agreed it would be too painful to say goodbye in the moment Lou left.
Lilly was in a dingy alleyway now. She adjusted her scabbards, fighting the urge to sigh. She was a warrior, wasn't she? This was her calling. She could help protect this city. Why was she thinking of throwing that away to chase after a handsome face and a pretty voice? Didn't she want her freedom?
She leaned back against the wall, staring up at the yellowed city sky. What did she want in life?
The Royal Blacksmiths' meager equipment was being loaded into a wagon as they prepared to travel. The Blacksmiths themselves were bustling about, saying goodbye to their various families and friends. Lou, always something of a loner, was mostly keeping to himself. He sighed and headed to the painted cart that the quartet and their manager would travel in.
"Wait! Lou!"
"Lilly," he gasped, as she came bounding in. "What are you doing here? You know we'd agreed not to—"
"I want to come with you," said Lilly breathlessly. Her cheeks were flushed from running.
"On the whole trip?" Lou smiled bemusedly. "Dearest, you'll be bored . . . "
"I'd find something to do," said Lilly. "I want to follow you. I—I think I want to follow you forever."
"Lilly . . . "
"But first I have to know." Lilly swallowed. "I'm ready to come with you, but only if I know this is going to work. I have to tell you something." She hesitated. "Show you something. Come with me."
"Lilly, we're leaving in just a few minutes . . . "
"It'll only take a few minutes!" Lilly took him by the hand and pulled him along, desperate to finish now that she'd started. She was more than a little frightened.
Lou followed along, bemused. Lilly drew him into a secluded cluster of trees.
"Promise you will tell this to no one," she said. "This is my darkest secret. I would not trust this to anyone else."
Lou looked mildly terrified, but he didn't object. Lilly had to steel herself for a moment. Finally she managed to extend one hand. She was almost too nervous to summon her element, but after a second's fumbling she succeeded. A small divot of grass heaved, then crumbled away as a column of soil shot up between them. Lou gasped.
"How are you doing that?!"
"I'm an Elemental Master," said Lilly quietly. "The Master of Earth."
"I've heard of those." Lou's voice was hushed. He watched the tower swaying lazily under Lilly's control. "I never thought I'd know one. Why is this your darkest secret? It's incredible!"
"You don't know?" Seeing Lou's blank expression, Lilly dropped her eyes. "My father was a traitor in the Serpentine Wars. He sided with the Serpentine. I bear his disgrace." She bit her lip. "I understand if this makes things impossible between us . . . "
"Impossible?" Lou startled her by scoffing. "Lilly. I know next to nothing about the Serpentine Wars. I was barely even born when they took place. What do I care about some political squabbles twenty years ago and halfway across the country?"
"You don't despise me?" said Lilly softly.
"I have no reason to." Lou took her hands.
Lilly bit her lip, smiling but fighting back tears. So, then. She'd found the right one. She was staying forever.
She didn't mention her other secret. The creature had been silent lately anyway, and instinctively something told her that hearing voices was going to go over a lot more poorly than nudging a little dirt around.
They toured the surrounding villages. Lilly sometimes went out during the day to see if anyone in the area needed defending, but not very often. She knew that her warrior habits were disturbing to Lou, and she felt guilty going out to cut people up and then keeping it from him. During the evenings she sat in for all his performances, tucked among the woodwork backstage, contentedly passing the time reading romance novels.
They came back to Ninjago City, and she visited Lou's home. He taught her to read music and to sing a little; he tried to teach her piano, but she never mastered anything beyond "Chopsticks." They danced often.
Then came the Christmas Eve performance at the city hall. And just before the final note, Lou sinking to one knee, looking into the audience, and saying the four words that entangle far too many lives.
For the rest of her life, Lilly would look back and wonder if it was just the world's standard cruelty, or if this had been a red flag. She had always thought that when someone asked "Will you marry me?", you were supposed to be overwhelmed with joy.
Instead, she felt a stab of terror. Joy, to be sure, but also a heavy dose of frustration. This was so sudden. This was so public. As a warrior, she had a keen sense of when she was cornered. Was she supposed to decide her entire future right here on this spot, with some five seconds to think? What if she had wanted to say no, what would she have done then?
Well, but she didn't want to say no, did she? Of course not.
She said yes.
A/N: With thanks to kordifm's "Ninjago Google Translated" for the lyrics to the Royal Blacksmiths' song. "Tree of Love" is a timeless classic, surely. :P