AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Who here is watching Season 8 on Cartoon Network here in the USA? I am!
I wish to give shoutouts to MasterofCupcakes, RandomDragon2.0, and Loki God of Evil for your great comments on the previous chapter of this tale!
And I thank NinjagoPotterWarriorsTrollsFan for faving me as an author!
When we left off at the end of the previous chapter, Colonel Doolverr had set out to kill Sergeant Jules Brossetteā¦
Chapter 53 - A Quest Begins
Jules frantically clawed and wriggled to break free of Doolverr's stranglehold, kicking over the chair in the process. Now he knew why Doolverr had temporarily dismissed his men - so that they could honestly say in a court inquest that they had not witnessed Jules' death, a snuffing of life which Doolverr was no doubt planning to claim had to be done in self-defense.
The lack of oxygen began to transform Jules' sense of reality into delirium, and he thought he heard Skylor's voice. She spoke loudly, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.
I love you, cherie, he mentally messaged her, realizing that he was not strong enough to break the viselike grip on his neck...
"STOP!" was what Skylor was screeching when she burst into the registration building and ran over to the men. "Uncle Oliver! Stop! Please stop!" she pleaded, reverting to the way she had addressed her father's friend during her growing-up years. She pounded her fists on Doolverr's back.
The pounding was annoying enough to make Doolverr let go of Jules, who fell to the ground. On his hands and knees, the sergeant gulped in precious air, allowing his mind to be restored to reality.
"What are you doing?!" Skylor screamed at the ranking officer, half angry yet half scared as the burly man turned around to face her.
"I'm protecting your reputation, Skylor!" the colonel growled as he backhanded her across her cheek.
The major cried out in pain, holding her face where he had just struck it.
Doolverr was not finished. "Your father is a high-ranking general who reports directly to the King, and we can't have his daughter sleeping around with every worthless scumbag she fancies, especially when she's already promised to someone!"
He smacked her again on her other cheek, and she shrieked once again, this time falling to her knees.
"If you can't control your urges by yourself, I'll help you by eliminating temptation."
He turned back toward Jules with the intent of finishing what he had started, but she scrambled back to her feet and grabbed onto his arm.
"NOOO! Don't kill him! I'll stay away from him if that's what'll keep him alive!" she wailed.
The burly man easily flung her off his arm. He turned toward her once again.
"Look, young lady, I understand that your noble father was occupied with serving his country while you were growing up, and that's why you sorely lack discipline. But someone needs to teach you a lesson in it!"
He grabbed her by her upper arm and began to smack her viciously on the face. Her cries of pain filled the air as she could not successfully defend herself.
While Doolverr was occupied, Jules stumbled to his feet, fueled by anger at the treatment his woman was receiving. Quickly he looked around for some way to stop the deranged colonel.
Then he saw the fireplace poker. Instantly he grabbed the metal object.
And swung it with force onto Doolverr's head.
Doolverr crumpled to the ground onto his stomach and lay still.
In the sudden silence of the room, Jules stood there, breathing heavily as the adrenaline still coursed through him. He looked upon the inert body on the ground. "The colonel knows how to make the misere," he commented as he turned to look at Skylor. He was shocked to see her beautiful face discolored and covered with welts. "Are you in pain, cherie?" he asked.
She ran to him and gave him a side hug around his waist. "I'm fine. How are you?"
He returned the hug. "I'll live," he assured her, conscious of the soreness around his neck. "You came at the right time. Merci beaucoup!"
"I went to find you in your office so that we could leave earlier than we planned to go on our horseback ride, but O'Reilly said you'd been summoned here by the colonel." She looked down at Doolverr. "Something told me I should come here, too."
Jules dropped the poker and knelt down next to the motionless officer to check his pulse. Within a minute he stood upright again.
"The colonel is dead," he declared.
Skylor gave a little gasp. Jules wondered if she would faint, but she remained upright.
"I must leave here, tout suite," he announced, beginning to back away from the body. "Those two lieutenants will be back soon."
"But, Jules, what are you afraid of? You killed him to defend me! I can vouch for that."
Jules sighed. "It's not that simple, Skylor. His military rank was higher than ours. And even though you were a witness, you are also a woman, and you yourself know that the Purple Army does not treat women as seriously as it should. Look around...how many female officers are here at Kryptarium Prison? Being a woman might disqualify you from testifying in my defense in the military court!"
"But where are you going?" Skylor asked, a tinge of panic in her voice.
"That I do not know. But if I stay, I will surely be found guilty of murder and be executed!"
"I'm going with you wherever you go, Jules," Skylor firmly stated, taking him by the hand.
He took her other hand in his and sadly smiled. "Ah, cherie, I love you and I am touched by your offer. But you would be giving up many things to become a fugitive like me. You would be giving up regular meals...and permanent shelter...and your relationship with your father..."
Skylor pursed her lips together. "Well, then...I know! Since I am the daughter of the Third Division commander, I'll take you right to Daddy to explain what happened, and we'll get this all straightened out in no time!" she blurted out.
Giving her brand new idea more consideration, she became more confident as she continued speaking. "We can explain to him our side of the story, in person. We'll go to Garmadon Ranch right away on the horses we were going to ride anyway, and we'll just have to avoid interacting with any soldiers before we can reach him. Oh, I just know Daddy will listen to me! He can issue an order to pardon you, and everything will be all right again!"
She looked into Jules' eyes with earnestness. "Please, Jules. Let's do this."
Jules looked back into her beautiful green orbs. He wasn't entirely sure that deliberately riding 500 miles deep into Purple territory to meet with the leader of the Purple Army's Third Division was a good idea for someone who had just killed a Purple officer, and a friend of the general at that, but it was the only idea they had at the moment.
"We will need food," he stated, indicating his tacit agreement to follow her suggestion. He ran into Doolverr's office with Skylor closely following.
Skylor spotted the confectionary jar on the desk. "I'll gather up the candy while you look in his desk," she suggested.
A search of the drawers revealed a bottle of whiskey, some cigars, a bag of coins, and a jeweled knife. "Maybe we can trade these for provisions on the way," he said as he tucked the items in the pockets of his coat, which still hung on the coat hook.
As Skylor moved around the office, her swishing skirt caught his attention.
"If only we had a man's uniform for you to put on later, for people will likely be told to look out for a man and a woman. And if you looked like a man, you would be less of a target for any saleaus on our journey who might try to have their way with a pretty woman such as yourself."
Skylor knelt and retrieved a box under the office sofa. "I came across an extra pair of Doolverr's uniform trousers when I was in here on New Year's Day," she explained, ashamed of the reason for being in the room on that particular occasion. She swiftly rolled the garment into a tight log. "I'll put this in my bag when we leave. I dropped it by the door when I came in."
When they finished scouring the office for items they might need on their journey, they went back into the main room. Jules approached Doolverr's body and took the dead man's gun. "That lieutenant told me to leave my own firearm at the office. Now I know why."
The couple quickly prepared to leave the registration building. After pulling up their scarves to hide their bruises as well as to protect them from the chill of the afternoon, they took one last look back at Doolverr's body as they exited.
"Too bad he was a peeshwank," Jules muttered. "Allons, cherie!"
Despite the urgency to leave Kryptarium Prison before the colonel's body was discovered, the couple maintained a calm facade as they casually walked to the stables and collected the two horses which had been saddled for them. Due to Skylor's status as an officer, they were expediently ushered out the front gate of the prison. They kept the horses at a sedate pace until they felt they were out of sight of the gatekeepers, and then they began to madly gallop in a northwesterly direction. They were grateful that the ground was currently bare of snow and thus their tracks could not easily be followed.
Laissez les bon temps rouler! the swampland native thought to himself as he and his lover made their way through the countryside. Let the good times roll!
They were now on their way to Garmadon Ranch.
