AUTHOR'S NOTE:

HEY EVERYONE! How are you? It's been nearly a year since I last updated this story - yikes! Life got in the way of working on it. But lately I have felt a prompting to resume the writing of this tale, and actually there are only about 7 chapters left to go, after this one.

Here is a (semi-)quick summary of what has led up to this chapter. The Purple Army controlled Kryptarium Prison. Purple Colonel Oliver Doolverr discovered that Skylor, a Purple Army major and the daughter of his best friend General Chen, was carrying on a dalliance with an enlisted man named Jules Brossette, even though she was engaged to be married to Jacob Clouse, a rising star in the Purple Army officers' ranks. Doolverr, in order to protect his friend Chen's reputation from the indiscretions of the young woman, attempted to kill Jules and thus stop Skylor from acting foolishly. But at the moment that Doolverr was strangling Jules, Skylor unexpectedly showed up, distracting Doolverr from his evil deed. Enraged by her interference, he began to beat her up. Jules regained his bearings, after nearly passing out from the strangulation, and utilized the first weapon he came across to stop the beating - a fireplace poker. The blow to Doolverr's head proved to be fatal. Knowing the futility of explaining to the military police that the killing was done in self defense, Skylor and Jules fled from Kryptarium Prison and headed on a cross-country journey to Garmadon Ranch, the location of the Third Division's winter camp, to ask General Chen for an official pardon for Jules.

In the chapter below, the traveling couple has reached the end of their journey...


Chapter 55 - Reunion

The next morning...

The last few wintry weeks had been exhausting for Major Skylor Amber and Sergeant Jules Brossette of the Purple Army. On their 500-mile journey on horseback from Kryptarium Prison in southern Ninjago to Garmadon Ranch in western Ninjago, they had dealt with many hardships: cold temperatures, snowfall, strong winds, hunger, spooked horses, nosy civilians, and patrolling Purple soldiers, to name a few. But finally, at long last, their quest to reach Skylor's father was nearing its end.

Also nearing its end, Jules hoped, was his status as a fugitive from justice. Jules hadn't meant to kill Purple Army Colonel Oliver Doolverr with the fireplace poker back at Kryptarium; he was simply trying to stop the burly man from beating up Skylor, and Skylor was only trying to stop Doolverr from killing Jules! But Jules and Skylor hadn't waited around to explain their side of the story to the military police. Instead, knowing that a fair trial for Jules was not likely, they had hastily fled the compound. But Skylor was sure that her father, General Chen, could straighten out the mess - after all, he commanded the Purple Army's Third Division and possessed the authority to issue official pardons. Thus, the couple had headed in the direction of the Third Division's winter camp, Garmadon Ranch, to seek the general's services in exculpating Jules for the act of fatally striking Doolverr.

Late yesterday, they had arrived at the Double S Ranch. Skylor, from her previous stay in the Ninjago Town area, had remembered the name of the ranch adjacent to Garmadon and that its owner was Senor Francisco Garcia. The travelers had chosen to seek shelter for the night at the Double S, for they wished to situate themselves somewhat close to the Third Division's winter camp, yet remain far enough away to avoid detection.

Having originally planned to simply hide in the stable, the weary couple was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only had the horse stalls been vacated, but the mansion was empty as well. Skylor surmised that Senor Garcia had abandoned his home ahead of the advancing Purple Army. So last night, even though they dared not build a fire in the fireplace for fear that the chimney smoke would call attention to their presence, they were able to sleep in relative warmth. And Skylor was grateful for not having to share space in a barn with pungent livestock.

Right now, on this gray February morning, after breakfasting on beef jerky they found in the pantry, Skylor busied herself with freshening up for her meeting with her father. She washed her face with melted snow water, thanks to the use of some house candles. She chose to wear a male soldier uniform so as to blend in with the rest of the troops in the camp, and she tucked her long red hair under her hat. As she made her preparations, Jules nervously chewed on a beef jerky stick.

Finally she was finished, and they walked to the stable, where he saddled her horse for the ride. "It will be so wonderful to finally soak in a nice hot bath again tonight," Skylor sighed happily as she mounted her animal. "And to sleep in a proper bed will be glorious!"

"Ah, cherie, you are so certain that your father will agree to pardon me. But I wish you had let us form a contingency plan, in case he makes the misere."

"Oh, Jules, you worry too much! I'll be back with good news," Skylor giggled as she leaned down to kiss her lover goodbye.

As he watched her ride away, Jules wished he could share her confidence that all would turn out well.

But he couldn't.

Skylor's ride to the Garmadon Ranch mansion was surprisingly uneventful. She was able to ride into and through the camp without being stopped, and thus she did not need to use the alibi she had concocted. She wondered why security was lax and why the camp was bustling with activity, more so than she expected.

She also wondered, as she made her way to the ranch's main house, if she'd bump into Jake. How should she react if she saw her soon-to-be ex-fiance? Should she initially pretend nothing is different, or should she confront him about his unfaithfulness right away? It was too bad she left Jake's letter to Fifi back at Kryptarium Prison, for she would have enjoyed shoving it in his face. Many times during the long journey to western Ninjago, she had pondered what her reaction should be to seeing Jake again, but she hadn't made a decision. She supposed she would ultimately let the situation play itself out naturally.

She also wondered if she would see Sam. If the two of them somehow met up, Skylor wanted to introduce herself and let Mrs. Smith know that she had seen Kai and that he was being treated decently. Two things Skylor resolved not to reveal, however - her knowledge of Sam's bedevilment by a Purple officer (who was that officer, anyway?), and the fact that Kai was in the hospital. Those items required further explanation, and Kai was the best person to do so.

Finally the main house came into view. The surroundings seemed so different than the last time she was in this area. Nearly two years ago, she had spent a Sunday here on the ranch with Kai. She recalled the brightly colored spring flowers blooming in the vibrant green meadows. The brilliant blue sky had stretched endlessly above them.

Today, however, everything seemed dirty and gray and depressing. Ugly tents blemished the muddy meadows.

Upon approaching the stately red brick mansion, Skylor remembered the lovely landscaping of the grounds. Now, crazily tilted telegraph poles lined the driveway up to the main house.

Despite the current bleak surroundings, Skylor approached the mansion with mounting excitement at seeing her father again. She secured her horse at the bottom of the grand steps and walked up to the unguarded double doors. Why isn't a sentry posted at the door? she asked herself.

She walked inside the mansion, attempting to blend with the orderlies who were flitting like bumble bees. She had been in this house once before. Kai had invited her to be his guest at a supper of appreciation for the Garmadon Ranch cowboys which Mr. Wu had hosted.

Not knowing exactly where her father was located, Skylor kept her eyes peeled for him while trying to look like she had an official purpose for being in the house. She kept her ears open to snippets of conversation for clues as to where the general was located.

She passed by the dining room, noting with disappointment that its elegance was now but a shadow of its former self. Cigar smoke smudged the walls and draperies. The legs of the intricately carved chairs were scuffed by army boots.

A few feet further down the hallway, she saw an orderly standing in a doorway entrance, being given a piece of paper by a short-looking, cigar-smoking man with long sideburns. Daddy!

The orderly turned and strode away with the paper. Chen retreated back through the doorway into the room from which he'd exited. He had not spotted his daughter.

Skylor, happy about reuniting with the father she had not seen in months, paused a second to take a deep breath, moisten her dry lips, and smooth down her uniform, anxious to impress the elder Chen. She then strode to the doorway. Surveying the room, she remembered that this had been Mr. Wu's office.

She rapped her knuckles on the door frame. "Good morning, Daddy," she cheerily called out.

General Chen looked up from the paper on which he was writing. A look of surprise crossed his face. He replaced the pen in the ink bottle and stood up as Skylor closed the office door, walked around the desk, and hugged him.

"Skylor, where have you been?" He allowed himself to be squeezed but did not return the gesture.

"I've been on the road, Daddy, trying to get to you so I could talk to you about something."

"So you weren't kidnapped? Witnesses said you were riding away with Oliver's murderer." Chen poured himself a drink of whiskey and downed it quickly. "It was a shame to lose Oliver. He was a good man." Chen frowned as he plunked down the glass.

"Not as good of a man as you thought, Daddy. The reason he died was that he was slapping me violently, and Jules tried to stop him with a fireplace poker."

"Wait. You were there when Oliver was murdered?!"

"Please, Daddy, don't use the word 'murder," Skylor implored. "Jules didn't mean to end Uncle Oliver's life. He was simply trying to protect me from Uncle's beating. I came here to ask for an official pardon for him."

"You traveled all the way from Kryptarium to ask for help for this soldier? What makes him worth all that effort?"

"Well, Daddy," Skylor looked down at her feet, a blush creeping across her face. "Jules is my new lover."

Chen's eyes grew wide. "What?!"

"Now, Daddy, don't get upset," Skylor cautioned. "Last month I found out that Jake has been philandering with a woman in Shanville, which tells me that he really doesn't love me. But don't worry, I'll tell Jake the engagement is off, and I'll give back the ring as soon as I can. But getting back to Jules...could you please pardon him, Daddy? It would mean so much to me." She smiled earnestly at her father.

"Skylor, Skylor." He clucked his tongue and shook his head side to side. "No."