AUTHOR'S NOTE (04 Aug 2019):
Hi all! I have returned from a great week of vacationing in Arizona. The temperature surpassed 100 degrees Fahrenheit each day, but the scenery was beautiful. And I went on a horseback ride (4 miles) for the first time, and it was awesome!
Also awesome were the comments on the previous chapter by MasterofCupcakes and RandomDragon2.0 - thank you!
In the chapter below, Skylor has just told Nya that she has news about Kai...
Chapter 57 - New Hope
Nya's face paled before replying in an equally low voice, "I'm not supposed to talk to soldiers, so wait till I go back upstairs, then follow and come to the second bedroom on the left." Nya turned and retreated back up the staircase.
Very shortly thereafter, when there was a lull in hallway traffic, Skylor made her way unseen up the same stairs and entered the small room, and Nya closed the door behind her, shutting out the noise of soldiers' activities on the floor below. The quiet bedroom was crowded with two small beds, a writing desk, an armoire, and a bassinet, in which a baby lay peacefully sleeping.
"What do you know about Kai?" Nya immediately demanded.
Skylor settled herself on one of the small beds. "Well, I just came from Kryptarium Prison. Kai was in the infirmary recovering from...an illness." Skylor did not want to admit it was an injury that she caused. "But I made sure he got good care, and he's recovering nicely. But where's Sam? I'd like to tell her myself."
"I'd also like to know where Sam is." Nya folded her arms. "But she left here with a Purple officer on New Year's Day and didn't come back with him."
Skylor gasped. No! Sam was enduring personal indignity AND was taken away from her home?!
Nya continued. "The bastard said he brought her to Ninjago Town to tend to a sick saloon girl, but I know he was lying, just like all you Purple sleeveens lie and cheat and ruin innocent people's lives!" she spat.
Nya braced for some sort of retaliation from Skylor for the criticism of the Purples, but to her surprise, the redhead bent over and held her head in her hands. "Oh, Nya," she lamented in a hushed voice, "I agree with you! I'm not on the Purple side anymore. In fact, if I don't escape from Ninjago soon, I'll be caught by a Purple posse, arrested, and thrown into prison, and my lover will no doubt be executed!"
Remorseful about the snide comments she had just made, Nya sat down on the bed next to the redhead, feeling awful for her in her predicament. "Oh, Skylor, I'm so sorry," she sympathized, patting the woman's shoulder.
Skylor was touched by the gesture of kindness. "Thank you, Nya," she responded, clasping her hand over the hand of the other woman. "I feel so guilty about bringing Jules all the way out here to the Ninjago Town area for nothing, like I led an innocent lamb to its slaughter. I thought for sure that Daddy would help him with some trouble we got into back at Kryptarium-"
"Wait...your daddy is some high and mighty Purple officer?"
Skylor grimaced and bowed her head. "Yes, he's General Chen, the Third Division commander."
Nya's silence caused Skylor to look up. The raven-haired woman was slack-jawed.
"Sakes alive, Skylor!" Nya finally sputtered. "General Chen forced Sam to be his courtesan in exchange for Kai's welfare at Kryptarium!"
Daddy's the high ranking officer who's violating Sam in exchange for Kai's safety?! Skylor felt bile rise in her throat.
Nya continued. "His right-hand man, Major Clouse, tricked her and took her to the general on Christmas Day for the first time. Clouse is the bastard who took her away on New Year's Day and didn't bring her back."
Jake's been part of this, too?! He IS a bastard!
Nya lowered her voice to a whisper. "I haven't told Mr. Wu or Miss Gayle this, but I think Sam's being held against her will at the cottage that belongs to her and Kai. On the day she disappeared, our dogs got loose and came back with moss on their fur, and moss grows by their cottage, which is in a wooded area by the Ninjago River. It's a secluded place, so I can see why she would kept there. I'm worried because the Purples are breaking camp in order to march to eastern Ninjago and fight the United States, and I'm afraid she's going to be taken with them."
So the Third Division is pulling up its winter camp stakes - no wonder things are chaotic around here!
At that moment, the baby in the bassinet rustled, and Nya stood up to tend to him, but he swiftly fell into slumber once again.
"This is my son, EJ," Nya explained in a soft yet proud voice as she stroked the soft auburn tresses of the sleeping infant. "Remember Jay Walker? He and I got hitched two summers ago, and EJ is our little shaver."
"I do remember Jay, mainly from that cowboys' appreciation supper here at the ranch that spring." At that time, Skylor had marveled that Jay's mouth could move as fast as lightning. "Congratulations on the birth of your son!"
Nya's smiling face fell, however, as she added, "I haven't seen Jay in nearly six months, and he hasn't even met our little boy yet. Jay was captured by the Purples in November, but when he was released in a prisoner exchange at Kryptarium around Christmastime, Garmadon Ranch had already been taken over by the enemy, so there was no way he could come home after that."
A happy family separated by Purple nonsense! By now Skylor's head was spinning at all the awful revelations of the morning. She suddenly realized that if she had any chance at a happy family of her own with Jules, she needed to leave...now.
Skylor quickly stood up. "I have to go," she announced.
Nya turned from the bassinet to face her. "Where are you heading?"
"Not exactly sure yet," Skylor admitted. "Right now I have to go back to where Jules is temporarily hiding and tell him the bad news about coming all the way out to western Ninjago for nothing."
Nya took a deep breath, looking around the bedroom for inspiration as to how she could help Skylor. Her eyes rested on the bottom drawer of the bedroom's armoire, the drawer which Nya knew housed the gun Sam had inherited from the markswoman Bansha.
Two summers ago, Bansha had helped that scoundrel Morro kidnap Sam and Kai and take them to Skeleton Territory. Bansha, who eventually felt remorse over her actions, tried to persuade Morro to release the captives, but to no avail. Jay, who had been part of the posse which followed and ultimately rescued the couple, had told Nya that the journey to Noscut, the Territory town closest to the Ninjago border, normally took 12 hours via Central Bridge.
"Skylor, you and your man could head to Skeleton Territory," Nya said slowly, pondering the thought. "The citizens there don't take kindly to outsiders who try to take law matters into their own hands, so any Purple soldiers looking for you would probably find themselves high-tailin' it back to the Ninjago side of the border."
Skylor nodded, warming up to the idea.
"I think that's a mighty fine idea," Nya announced, having convinced herself. "But while you're traveling there, you probably shouldn't be seen heading in the opposite direction of the Purple Army wearing a uniform. Someone seeing you might think you're deserting and they might shoot you." Nya opened the armoire doors and quickly rummaged through her dresses, selecting one of a brown color. She tossed it at Skylor. "This one shouldn't attract too much attention."
As Skylor expressed her gratitude for the gift, Nya opened the bottom drawer of the armoire and, without disturbing Sam's firearm, threw a man's work shirt and pair of work pants at the redhead. "I don't know what size your Jules is, but here are some of Jay's clothes for him."
Skylor quickly assessed that the garments would suffice, and she tucked the garments inside her coat before hugging the raven-haired woman. "You're a good friend, Nya."
"Oh, Skylor, I wish you and Jules the best!"
Skylor exited the house without seeing her father. Though she wanted to gallop away from Garmadon Ranch as fast as possible, she sedately guided her horse away from the red brick mansion so as not to attract attention. Only when she traveled far enough away from the house to feel safe did she bolt to Senor Garcia's home. And she cried.
When she arrived at the Double S Ranch, Jules came outside to greet her. He noted her somber face and her red eyes, and his heart sank. "What happened, cherie?" he asked as she dismounted her animal.
Skylor quickly reached into her coat and threw the pile of Jay's clothing at him. "Put these clothes on, Jules. We have to get out of here."
He caught the pile of clothing. "But tell me what happened," he insisted.
"Daddy disowned me," she choked, blinking back tears.
"Oh, cherie, I am sorry." He dropped the clothes and rushed to give her an embrace of comfort, even though he could feel his own heart plummeting to his feet. As he feared, their treacherous 500-mile journey was all for naught.
"I-I guess we'll never get to go to your magical bayou now," she mumbled into his chest as she returned his embrace. "We'll have to make tracks for Skeleton Territory. It's the nearest safe haven for us."
He kissed her on the top of her red head. "Then let us head there tout de suite! As long as we are together, anywhere can be our home."
She looked up and smiled at him with love in her eyes.
Returning to the interior of the Garcia home, they changed into the civilian outfits, then quickly gathered their own belongings as well as items from Senor Garcia that could prove useful. To avoid being seen as they left the Double S Ranch, Skylor directed their horses to the wooded area, and they rode along the bank of the Ninjago River.
Besides escaping from the Purple Army, Skylor had an additional reason for taking this route.
