4
"I don't know any other way to say it…we've got to have dragons for transport at least. You can't expect us to travel around by foot the rest of our lives!"
Keyda tried not to sigh in irritation as she stood at the head of the large table. Oni leaders from other areas of the nation had come together to try—once again—to find some kind of solutions to the problems they were facing. But all their solutions were always in direct violation of union agreements, and so at the end of these meetings nothing ever really got decided. They drove her absolutely mad.
"Then we need to think of some way of transport that isn't dragons. You know very well that keeping dragons—even just as a means of travel—is against…"
"The union…the bloody union!" Another Oni leader spat in disgust. She turned and glared at him, but he just glared back. "You've tied our hands then, lass. The Dragons will only get stronger while we dwindle and weaken, and soon they'll be nothing stopping them from…"
"The Dragons will not attack us!" Keyda snapped. She glared at the four other people in the room. "Don't any of you get it!? We can't go back to the way things used to be…that means no dragon labor, but it also means no more war!"
She sat heavily, putting a hand to her head to stave off a headache. "Does anyone have anything they want to discuss that doesn't have anything to do with Dragons?!"
The room grew quiet, but then one of the leaders spoke up.
"I've got something…why don't we discuss that spy you brought over from the other realm?"
She stiffened, looking up to give the northern leader a murderous look.
"He's not a spy…"
"He's an outsider, plain as plain." Another leader argued. "He doesn't belong here!"
Keyda had stood again, and they quieted as they saw her eyes flash purple.
"That outsider is my guest…"
"But how long is he gonna stay?" the first leader asked, not backing down. "It's bad enough that we've got that Dragon Master influencing you…but to have another worthless…"
"That's enough." Keyda's tone shut the leaders up again, her eyes blazing. "If this is a question of respecting me and my decisions, then you better be ready to take it up with me. But Cole is my guest and you'd better treat him with the same respect that you would treat me."
Heavy Metal shifted, but she ignored him. The four leaders looked outraged.
"Same level of respect!?" one sputtered. "Do you give him the same rank as you, then?! This is heresy!"
"You must send him back!"
"What are your intentions with him exactly?! If you think that we would ever accept…"
Her hair began to move as aura rose around her. She finally slammed her fists down on the table, sending a shock of power out.
"GET OUT."
The Leaders were still angry, but as they saw how furious she was they all stood in contempt and whisked themselves out of the room. When they had all gone, the last slamming the door, Keyda collapsed back into her chair, head in her hands.
"When you react like that, you are just letting them know they found a nerve." Heavy Metal said from behind her. She didn't answer, still fuming. Her captain of the guard came and sat in a nearby chair, studying her carefully.
"What are your intentions with him?"
She exhaled angrily, glaring at him.
"I don't believe that's any of your business…any of you."
"You're our leader…the leader of all the Oni. You have to realize that you aren't free to just do whatever you want."
"What are you talking about?" Her tone was bitter and she continued to glare, daring him to come right out and just say it. He fell silent, and she scoffed.
"YOU are the one who wanted me to bring him back, but now you're acting like…"
"I didn't tell you to bring him back; I told you to visit. It's clear he grounds you in some way…but you've opened a whole new set of problems by bringing him here. The Oni are never going to accept him as anywhere near your rank…so the attention you give him…"
"It's my private life!" she yelled, standing. "I may have all these stupid responsibilities, but I still get to decide what I do in the small window of private life I still have left!"
She left before Heavy Metal could say anything more, slamming the door behind her.
Cole opened the door to the frantic knocking, already knowing what it was about. To his surprise it was the little girl slave, rather than Hershel.
"Where's…"
"Please help!" she pleaded, her eyes wide with fear. Cole swallowed hard and took off down the hall towards the stairway up to Keyda's room. The door was ajar when he got there, and Hershel was sitting in the hall holding his leg, looking like he was in pain.
"It's gotten worse…" he groaned, seeing Cole come up. Cole looked at the door before taking a breath and pushing his way into the room.
The memories played on repeat, despite everything she tried to do to stop them. The pain was as fresh as it was that first time, and she tried to close her eyes to block it all out. But then he came…he always came…
"When will I be rid of you!?" She screamed, eyes still closed with her arms wrapped around her. The Baron just laughed.
"Let the destruction take its course… you can't control it. Why bother? Why not just wipe out all those who question you…who stand in your way…"
She flailed out with Hatred, but she could never hit him. It was because he didn't exist…she knew he didn't exist! So why could he still torment her?
She was aware of arms wrapping around her, pinning her own down. She lashed out again, trying to claw the Baron's arms off of her. She heard him gasp in pain and felt validated that she finally managed to hurt him. But in the next moment both arms were pinned more firmly to her sides and she screamed out in frustration.
Keyds…
The voice broke through the panic and anger and she stopped thrashing as hard.
Keyds, calm down! It's ok…you're safe…you're safe…
The whirlwind of emotion and fear began to fade, and the purple and grey world around her began to dim into black. She sagged, giving in to the sweet relief of dreamless sleep.
Keyda finally went lax, and Cole exhaled in relief. She had been standing this time, the aura storm whipping around her as she fought some unseen demon in a sleep-walking sort of trance.
Cole sank to the ground, still holding her. What was he supposed to do? It was getting worse…and he had no idea how he was supposed to help. He had tried talking to her, but she refused to talk about the things she needed to. He looked down at her, finally sleeping peacefully. What was going on in her mind to create such violent storms?
He felt a small hand on his shoulder and he looked over tiredly at the small Oni girl. She didn't say anything as she held out a small roll of clean bandage. He stared blankly at it for a minute and she finally pointed to his arms. He looked down and realized that Keyda had drawn blood when she had attacked him in his attempts to help her. Cole sighed and took the bandage from the small slave. He stood, carrying Keyda to her bed. After putting her back, he sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping his arms in the bandage. He probably should start wearing long sleeves to bed…it would be hot but could provide added protection if these late night rendezvous kept happening. Before he left her room that night, he looked at her, trying to figure out what to do. He finally shook his head; he would go see Wu again tomorrow. Hopefully his sensei would have more ideas than he did.
Keyda wandered the halls, frowning. Where was Cole? A few slaves mentioned seeing him walking away from the fortress, but it wasn't either of the days that he usually went out with his Dragon. She finally sat down on an armchair in the hallway, pushing the knot of worry away. He probably had gone to see Wu again. He mentioned that some of the dragons were sick…maybe Wu just needed extra help. She felt a little twist of guilt; she wished that there was more that she could give him to do, but everything was such a mess at the moment. She had been hoping that the other Oni would get used to having Cole around, but based on the conversation yesterday, she didn't think that was very likely.
After a few minutes Heavy Metal found her, and she sighed in frustration before following him into another meeting.
Cole flew back from talking with Wu with a heavy heart. His sensei had been busy trying to work out disagreements between a group of salamander-dragons. Apparently the wingless species enjoyed living in the underground caverns at Dragon-Haven, but they turned out to also be extremely territorial. Even when Cole finally was able to talk to Wu, the Dragon Master could offer no more advice than what he already did, though he offered to talk to Keyda himself about everything, since she hadn't been willing to talk to Cole.
"What am I going to do?" he muttered, his words carried away on the wind.
But even his Elemental Guardian seemed out of ideas, and Cole sighed. He was so busy stewing he didn't realize how close he was flying to Oni territory.
"Cole!"
He looked up in surprise at the sound of his name, and he looked down to see a group of kids clustered on the ground. He couldn't help but smile and had his elemental dragon land. The children backed up, looking conflicted about being so close to a real dragon.
"Is he gonna eat us?" One finally asked, and Cole laughed.
"No, don't worry. Dragon's aren't as ferocious as all that."
"Course they are!" one of the children said, but then he glanced fearfully at the Elemental Guardian, as if afraid that the Dragon had heard him.
Cole chuckled, stroking the Guardian's snout. He turned to the kids with a raised eyebrow.
"Wanna closer look?"
The children looked both excited and terrified by the idea. One of the braver ones finally inched closer, though she squealed in fear as the Dragon lowered its head towards her. Cole stopped her from running off, kneeling next to her to offer comforting encouragement. With him there, she finally gained enough confidence to reach out and touch the Dragon's scaly nose. She squealed again, and it seemed to break the spell. Soon all the children were running up to touch the Dragon and the Earth Guardian gave Cole a withering look. Cole chuckled softly.
"Sorry…" he said quietly. After a few moments he had another crazy idea.
"How would you guys like to see what the realm looks like from the air?"
It was dusk by the time Cole was dropping the Oni children back off on the ground near their village. They had behaved surprisingly well on the back of the dragon…probably because they were too terrified to risk messing around mid-flight. After a while, their fear left and they had giggled in delight as they looked down at the world below them, marveling at how different it all looked from the air.
"Will you come back soon?"
It was the little girl who had first touched the dragon, looking up at Cole with wide eyes as he boarded the Guardian once again. He smiled down at her.
"Well…we'll have to see…" he said, not sure how the Oni would feel if they found out about this little escapade, let alone future ones. He watched them all race back to the village, many putting their arms out, pretending to be dragons in flight. After they all disappeared from view he headed back to the fortress. It was dark by the time they were coming up on it. Cole knew the night guard would freak if he brought a Dragon right up to the fortress in the dark, so he had the Guardian drop him off far enough away.
Must I remind you in the future, I am not a taxi.
"How do you even know what a taxi is?" Cole asked. His Dragon gave him another annoyed look and Cole laughed sheepishly. "Ok…I'm sorry. I'll ask your permission from now on, ok?"
The Dragon blew hot air at him and Cole shook his head, smiling. The Dragon finally took off, and Cole waved at it as it left. He turned to walk back to the fortress, thinking about the small children. How long had they been taught to hate dragons? Their whole lives, he supposed. Was their hatred something that they were born with, or was it something that was taught that could still be un-taught?
He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the large figure in front of him until he was too close to avoid it. He blinked, recognizing the face in the torch.
"Thom…uh…nice to see you again…"
He trailed off as he glanced around and noticed a few more burly Oni coming in around him, boxing him in. He shook his head; no point in pretending this was anything other than the ambush it clearly was. He looked back at Thom and couldn't help but smile grimly.
"Alright then, guys…let's dance" he said, his arms lighting up in the darkness.
Keyda woke the next morning to someone pounding on her door. She bolted upright, feeling groggy. It was definitely earlier than it was when she usually got her wake-up call. She managed to make it out of her bed and to the door. Hershel usually was always at hand to open the door for her, but he had hurt his leg somehow the day before. The door opened and revealed Heavy Metal, looking grim.
"There's been…an incident."
5
Cole stretched in the morning light. It had been awhile since he had been strong enough to actually thump people. After Thom and his friends' attempt to do him in the night before, he had come in and collapsed in bed. Now, he could make out holes in his long sleeves where the cloth had torn as he wrenched himself out of Thom's grip. He looked over at his mirror and sighed. He had forgotten that one of them had managed to land a good punch; how on earth was he going to explain that black eye?
Maybe I can sneak out and go spend a few days with Wu… he thought, pulling off the tattered shirt. Didn't he have another one around here somewhere?
The door behind him suddenly burst open, and he straightened without turning around.
Oh, please don't be…
"What the heck happened last night!?"
He closed his eyes when he heard Keyda's voice. She and four of her personal guard members were crowded in the doorway.
"Um…I don't know what…"
"Do not lie to me!" She snapped, coming around to face him. "Heavy Metal told me that there were…"
She trailed off as she caught sight of his black eye, and she shook her head in both horror and disgust.
"Who did it?" Her voice was hard and Cole sat on his bed with a sigh.
"Keyds, there's no point in…"
"Who was it!?" She yelled at him. He didn't answer and she suddenly caught sight of the wounds on his arm. She shook her head in shock.
"Is that why your arm's been sore all week?" She asked, voice rising as she gestured to the burn and scratches. He looked down and moved his arm out of her line of sight.
"Keyds, I'm fine…"
"You lied to me!" She argued. "How many times have you been attacked!?"
He still wouldn't answer her and she huffed.
"From now on, you will be accompanied by a group of personal guards…"
His head snapped up.
"What?! Keyda no…"
"You obviously aren't safe here….it's either that or I send you back to Ninjago!" she snapped.
He stood, angry.
"I'm not helpless like I was before; I really can take care of myself! So I have a few bruises…compared to what I left on those slaves, that's nothing…"
"The attackers were slaves, then?" Keyda asked icily and Cole looked away, kicking himself for giving away that much. She turned to go and Cole grabbed her arm.
"Keyda, you can't just go in, hands blazing…"
"They attacked you!" She spat, yanking her arm from his grasp. "They attacked my personal guest and thus I have a right to enforce punishment…"
"You're just going to make it all worse!" Cole argued, and her eyes blazed.
"This is the way you have to deal with Oni, Idiot! How many times do I have to tell you that this isn't Ninjago?! You don't know anything about Oni!"
"Maybe I don't, but I do know a thing or two about bullies. If you go track them down and make a big deal, or set me up with a personal guard, then you're playing right into their hands! You'll be telling them that they got to you…"
"They have to be punished!" She argued back, and he scoffed.
"Trust me, they were last night. They won't make the mistake of taking me on again, trust me. You have to let it go…"
"No." Keyda snapped. "I don't. So help me, I will make you stay safe." She went to leave and Cole went to grab her arm again, but one of her personal guards put out a stiff arm to stop him. He tried to push past, but another guard joined and they were able to keep him back.
"Keyda!" he called after her, and she turned. She didn't call her guard off, however.
"Make sure he doesn't leave his room," she ordered angrily, and Cole flushed.
"You can't just…"
"I'll be back to talk to you later." She cut in, her tone final as she turned to go back down the hall with her other two guards.
"KEYDA!" He yelled after her, furious, but she ignored him as she turned the corner. He went to push past the guards again, but they shoved him backwards and slammed the door shut on him. He grabbed the doorknob just as he heard a lock click.
"You have got to be kidding me…" he fumed. He knew he could just knock the door off its hinges and fight off the personal guard. He was tempted to do just that…but his presence in the fortress was tense enough without going crazy and attacking guards.
He punched his bedpost in anger, and it shattered into a hundred fragments of wood. How dare she lock him up…he shook, irate. Why didn't she listen to him? Actually listen to him…when it actually mattered? What was he even doing here?! What was the point if she was just going to treat him like a helpless little thing, not capable of helping in any way or having any responsibility? He finally went to the window and threw it open. He was at least three stories up, and the sides of the fortress didn't have a lot of hand and footholds, but that didn't bother him. He had climbed down worse.
Keyda went straight to the Matron. She was an Old Oni, having been with the fortress since Keyda had arrived long ago. The Matron was in charge of all the slaves, and she had made Keyda's life a living nightmare on many days until she had finally learned all the tricks to staying out of her way and out of her memory. Today she charged into the Matron's small office, and the cranky Oni looked up at her, confused.
"Who isn't working today?" Keyda demanded. The Matron frowned, as if she didn't understand the question, and Keyda slammed her hands on the desk, eyes blazing.
"A group of slaves orchestrated an attack last night and I'm lead to believe that they were hurt in the process. Who came to work hurt this morning? Who isn't working because of injury?!"
A few moments later, Keyda had a list, and she ordered a team of guards to round up those on it. About half an hour later, the guards had forced five slaves out of bed and brought them before her in a large room that used to house Arena dragons. They had expressions ranging from fear to anger and defiance, and her gaze rested on the large Oni at the front of the group. Thom's arm was in a sling, and he glared at her, hate and contempt written all over his bruised face. She glared back; this thug had been targeting her since she was young. It made a sick sort of sense that he had been part of this attack.
She finally took a look at the other Oni brought in, many sporting similar bruising. One was limping. She blinked in surprised as she realized that one of the guards had brought Hershel in; she realized that he technically fit the criteria she had given the Matron. He looked pale and terrified, his leg still wrapped up from whatever injury he had sustained. She knew he had no part in this attack...but she also was suddenly interested how he had managed to hurt his leg so badly overnight.
"And wha does our high n' mighty leader want now?"
She turned her attention back to Thom, and shook her head.
"I always knew you were a jerk, Thom…but now I can see how truly stupid you are." He glowered as she came closer, her eyes hard as flints. "How dare you attack…"
"Can't prove it was us." Thom interrupted defiantly, though he flinched when her hands lit up.
"No? Do you think your little friends wouldn't stoop down to ratting you out if they were given a chance?" She caught the uncertainty in his expression and she raised an eyebrow. "Didn't think so…"
"You little…" he started, but she blasted him backwards.
"You are going to rot in a cell for this, Thom. All of you…what could you possibly hope to gain from hurting him?"
The Oni pushed himself up, shaking his head at her in a condescending way.
"You think this was our idea? Sure, we hate they guy…you've taken a filthy outsider and flaunt him around like he's better than the rest of us. But you know better than anyone that us slaves don't got any power ourselves…we just do what we're told."
Keyda glared at him, processing his words.
"You're saying you were ordered to do it?"
Thom shook his head.
"Them other leaders, they don't like ya much do they?"
It hit Keyda hard and she felt sick. Thom could be lying, but she also couldn't quite put it past those she had conferenced with to organize something like this. The slaves looked at her warily as aura began radiating off her. She turned to the guards.
"Get them out of here…take them to the dungeons to rot."
The Oni yelled out, some cursing, some begging, as the Guards dragged them off. Thom just glared, spitting in her direction before two Guards forced him out of the room. One of the Dragon Masters was dragging Hershel out and Keyda remembered just in time to order him to bring the teenage slave back. He was shaking when she knelt to talk with him, refusing to look her in the eye.
"Hershel…" he tone was stern and he seemed to shrink into himself. "I need to know how you hurt your leg."
Hershel swallowed painfully.
"I…I fell down the stairs…" he murmured. Keyda shook her head.
"I know that isn't what happened…I can tell when you lie to me. I need the truth…now."
Hershel shook harder.
"I can't…" he said plaintively and she grabbed his shoulder forcefully.
"You have to Hershel; I'm ordering you to tell me what happened!"
He finally looked up and she could see the fear in his eyes. What on earth was spooking him so badly?
"It was…it was in your room a few nights ago…" he finally said. She could tell he was being truthful, and she released his shoulder as she listened to him. He took another painful swallow, as if he wasn't sure how to continue. He finally looked down and started unwrapping his leg.
"You've been having nightmares…" he said, and Keyda stiffened, wondering if she had been yelling out in her sleep. With shaky hands he removed the last of the bandage and she frowned at the large burn on his skinny leg. "I…I was only trying to help you, trying to wake you up before the storm got too bad…"
"Storm?" she asked sharply, and Hershel flinched.
"It…it happens…everytime…" he stopped, trembling again and refusing to look at her. "I'm sorry…I don't mean any dishonor…"
Keyda looked down at the nasty burn again, realization dawning on her and making her feel sick.
"You're saying I did this to you?!"
Hershel seemed to be bracing himself, and she realized he was waiting for her to punish him. She bolted upright, emotions swirling inside. If her powers were acting without her knowing…she trembled as she realized that she still had no control over what they did.
"Take him back to his room…" she finally said to a guard, and her soft tone caused Hershel to sag in relief; she wasn't going to punish him.
She swallowed hard as she watched the guard help the teen out of the room. She'd been having nightmares for weeks…how much damage had she been doing in her sleep?
A guard entered the room to inform her that the 4 other slaves had been locked up, and she nodded her understanding even though the update only reminded her that the other Oni leaders had conspired against her. She put a hand to her temple, a migraine forming. There was just too much! How was she supposed to do this?! She was trying but she was failing. It was as simple as that; no matter how hard she tried to keep everyone in line, she had no control. She told her guards to stay behind as she moved quickly to leave the large area, heading back down the winding hallways to Cole's small room. She waved off the guards at the door and they quickly unlocked it and opened it to allow her entrance.
She stopped dead after entering, her heart sinking. She took in the mangled bed-post and the open window; he had left. She sat heavily on the bed, head in her hands. Of course he had left…what had she expected? Her jaw clenched as she realized she had basically locked him up. But it was for his own good! With everything going on…with all the threats and plans that were brewing amongst the Oni, he wasn't safe…
"Keyda, where have you been?"
She looked up to see Heavy Metal in the doorway.
"I have to take care of something…" she said, coming to a decision.
"You have…"
"I don't care what else I was supposed to do today." she snapped. "I'm going out, so deal with it till I get back!"
He didn't say anything as she shoved past him, heading outside. She was determined to find a dragon…she needed to talk to Wu.
Wu looked up in surprise as the Dragon came, carrying Keyda in one claw. It had taken awhile for her to convince it to take her to see Wu, and it had refused to let her ride its back. The Dragon landed, and Keyda angrily extracted herself from its foot.
"Keyda, what…"
"You are extremely difficult to find when I need you." she snapped, and he paused, waiting for her to tell him what was wrong. She dusted herself off and finally looked up at him, her expression guarded.
"He left." She finally said awkwardly. He smiled a bit.
"I know. He came here."
Keyda felt a rush of relief; he hadn't left the realm completely, then. But she still shook her head.
"Wu…it was a mistake to make me lead anyone. I don't have any control….over the Oni, over myself…."
"To control oneself is often the hardest feat for one to accomplish," he pointed out. She gave him a withering look.
"I wish you would just talk normal."
Wu chuckled.
"He's down in the caverns with a few sick dragons…" he said, pointing. Keyda looked down towards the cavern opening, but she hesitated. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"The two of you need to have a talk…" he pointed out and she sighed.
"Can't you just…"
Wu immediately put his hands up.
"Nope…this is the kind of stuff I do not get involved with."
Keyda smiled a bit, but it faded as she looked back at the cavern entrance. She finally sighed again and headed down into it.
The space was bigger than she was expecting, but it was still easy to spot Cole sitting over by a few weary-looking dragons. She closed her eyes, trying to collect her thoughts before heading over to where he was.
He glanced over at her as she came over, and she swallowed, not sure what to say.
"Don't ever do that again."
His voice was icy, and she knew what he was referring to. She stopped walking, deciding just to stand a few feet away.
There was tense silence for a few minutes until she finally spoke.
"I'm sorry. I…I shouldn't have…" her voice trailed off and he exhaled angrily as he stroked the sick dragon in front of him.
"Did you find the slaves?" he asked bitterly, and she came to sit near him.
"Yes. They're in the dungeon now."
Cole shook his head. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Cole…they were under orders. The other Oni leaders orchestrated the attack…"
His hand froze on the Dragon and she hugged herself.
"You aren't safe here." Her eyes smarted with tears. "I…I think you need to go back to…"
"And give them what they want?" He looked over at her, wearing his familiar serious and determined expression. "All that will do is tell them that they can control you."
"Cole, why won't you just listen to me?! They aren't going to stop with just one attack!"
"You're the one not listening!" He snapped back, turning so he could more fully face her. "I know you care about me, Keyds…but you don't trust me."
She stared at him for a few moments before scoffing.
"Can you blame me?! Can you blame me for not believing you when you say that you're going to be fine…or that 'nothing will happen'…or that…"
"I'm not in the same shape as I was a few months back, Keyda…a black eye is far cry from broken ribs!"
"But it's not just going to be a black eye if you stay here!" She yelled back. "They aren't going to back down!"
"Neither am I! Besides…I'm not about to leave you now, not with everything going on."
She stiffened. "What is that supposed to mean?!" He didn't answer right away and she scoffed. "You're one to talk about trust…but the fact is that you don't trust me to run this nation! You find fault with everything I do!" Her voice was rising. "Don't you get that I'm trying?! I know that I'm not the best leader…but I can't just go along with what you say because I'm barely being able to keep control of the nation as it is!"
"I know it's hard! That's why I'm trying to help! But you won't let me!..."
"What can you do?!" She stood, grabbing her head. "What can you do to fix this realm? To fix ME?!" she whirled on him. "I'm…I'm creating storms in my sleep! If I can't even control myself, what on earth are you going to be able to do?!"
He had stood as well, and shook his head as he saw the aura start glowing in her eyes and fists.
"I can listen, Keyds…tell me what's going on. Talk to me! I can't do anything if you don't trust me!"
She shook her head and he took a few steps closer.
"I understand that I've made it hard for you…I overestimated my strength, and I took too many risks. But I'm still here…and I'm here for you. Please…just talk to me…"
The aura got stronger as she fought with her emotions, but she finally broke down, crying, and he pulled her into his arms. She embraced him tightly as she sobbed.
"I'm terrified." She finally managed to get out, her voice muffled because her face was buried in him.
"Of what?"
"I'm terrified…I'll lose you…I'm terrified of myself." She shuddered and he held her tighter.
"No matter what I do…the Baron…he's always right there…I can't get rid of him! I know he's dead….I know he can't touch me…but he mocks me, tells me what I am and what I'll become…..and I can't do anything…"
Cole didn't say anything, just listening to her fears as he stroked her hair.
"I'm trying to enforce the union, but the more I push for continued peace the more everyone just fights back. I can't keep fighting forever. I'm exhausted…and every night I just relive losing you…over and over and now there are more people trying to hurt you and you need to go back to Ninjago but I never want you to leave…."
Her words came out in rushes, the tears soaking his gi as he listened silently. When she ran out of things to say she cried for a bit longer and finally fell silent. Cole smoothed her hair out of her face.
"The world is against us, Keyds," he finally agreed, and she looked up at him as he continued. "But we are going to be stronger together…we can work this out."
"How?"
He studied her face and sighed.
"We compromise….if it will make you feel better about me being here and being safe…then I'll let you assign me a personal guard." He held up a finger as he raised an eyebrow. "Just one though…ok?"
She nodded her agreement, feeling a rush of relief. At least he wouldn't be on his own. He touched her face so she would look back at him, his expression more serious.
"But If I let you do that, you have to let me show you something…"
She furrowed her eyebrows, not sure what he was talking about.
"What?"
Here he smiled. "Something that may help you control this crazy Nation. Will you come with me to a village and let me show you that?"
She frowned, but finally sighed .
"Ok…"
"Keyds."
She looked at him as he leaned in.
"I'm not going anywhere…you know that right? You don't have to be afraid of me leaving, ok? I'm not going anywhere…"
She searched his face.
"You promise?"
"Promise." he said, and then he kissed her. She let the fear and uncertainty fade away as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back.
6
The Guardian of Earth landed near the village, and Keyda frowned as Cole slid off and offered her a hand.
"We're doing this now?" she asked, accepting his help as she dismounted. He chuckled, catching her as she stumbled.
"Might as well…no time like the present, right?"
She sighed, looking over at the village.
"That's not really fair…you don't even have your guard yet; why should I keep my end if you haven't done yours?" Her tone was serious, but he knew she was joking.
"But I have you…and that totally counts. I only agreed to one protector at a time." He smiled smugly and she just rolled her eyes. They started walking towards the village, and as they grew closer Keyda suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand. Cole turned in surprise, but she met his gaze evenly.
"If we're a team…then I want everyone to know it," she explained, and he smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. They reached the entrance of the village and Keyda hesitated, not really sure what it was that Cole wanted. Within a moment a heavy-set Oni woman with a deep scowl came to meet them. Keyda caught sight of her arm band and knew this was the village leader…and she did not look happy at the surprise visit.
"You did not give word that you were coming…" the leader said icily. Her gaze flicked over to where the dragon was lying lazily in the sun. "…Or that you would be bringing a dragon. You already did your purge of our village for dragons…what on earth could you want now?"
Keyda made sure that she stood straight, refusing to be cowed by the village leader…but she honestly had no idea what they were doing here. She finally looked over at Cole, who was wearing a comfortable smile.
"We aren't here about Dragons, we're here to find out what it is you need."
"Excuse me?" the Oni lady said, folding her arms. Keyda's heart sank as she finally caught on to what Cole was up to, but she had agreed to it. She just had to let the Idiot run his course at this point.
Cole walked past the leader, looking around at the village before looking back.
"What problems are you facing?" he asked. "How are the crops? The homes?"
The leader flushed, offended. "We are self sufficient…no need for your nosing about!" she snapped. He shrugged.
"We aren't here to sniff out weaknesses…we're here to solve problems left in the absence of your dragons. But it's hard to find solutions if we don't even know what the problems are."
She just looked at him like he was crazy, and Keyda was resisting the urge to put a hand to her face.
Cole didn't seem bothered at the lack of response. He scratched his head as he looked around.
"I mean, if you guys are perfectly happy with how everything is, then I guess we can go find out what the other villages need around here."
"Now wait just a minute!" the leader snapped, glaring. "Don't come in saying you are trying to solve problems and then leave without doing anything!" She turned her glare on Keyda.
"Ever since your little union, we've had no way of traveling, no way to protect our village…"
"Protect them from what?" Keyda asked. "We aren't in a war anymore…"
The lady scoffed. "Well, I certainly wouldn't expect you in your fancy fortress to know, but there are vermin who come in the night…make off with livestock, spoil crops…they didn't dare approach with a dragon or two locked up nearby, but now…"
"Sounds like you need a wall." Cole cut in, and the leader turned to glare at him.
"Do you see any materials for that?! You can't build a wall outa nothing!"
As they talked, Keyda had a flashback. It had been a long time since she had thought of her life before the Baron found her, but she had a fuzzy memory of lanky, sharp-toothed creatures coming in the night. Her father used to make her throw rocks at them to keep them away from the root vegetables that they grew; they liked to dig them up. They were known for attacking the neighbor's livestock as well.
"The night-sniffers," she recalled suddenly, and Cole and the village leader looked over at her in surprise.
"That's right." the leader said guardedly. Keyda folded her arms.
"I was born in a farming village…before the Baron demolished it. I remember those vermin…"
"Then you know that it's hard to keep em at bay without a dragon! You've got to get rid of this union; we aren't going to be able to produce enough food to survive!"
"We can't get rid of the union!" Keyda snapped. She was so sick of having this fight.
"But we can do something about those…those…" Cole had jumped into the conversation, but he couldn't quite remember the name of the problem.
"Night-sniffers," the leader said dryly, and he smiled.
"Night-sniffers, right. If we were able to build a wall…do you think it'd keep them out?"
Keyda and the Leader looked at each other, and the leader finally sighed.
"It wouldn't hurt…but you're wasting your time. Unless those at the fortress want to donate all the bricks for it," she said, eyeing them. Keyda knew that they couldn't do that; there was no way they could ship all the slave-made bricks to the villages, the other leaders would have a fit. Such material was seen as part of the caste system…those at the top lived in solid, permanent places. Those in the lower castes lived in more fluid shelters, such as tents.
"We don't need bricks." Cole said with a smirk.
"No? Then what were you planning to build it out of? Thin air?" The leader asked.
"Not quite," Cole said. He gave a whistle and the Gaurdian looked up. Cole waved it over and the Leader backed up warily. By now other Oni in the village had come over to see what was happening, and they all gasped and whispered as the dragon drew closer.
"What's he doing?!" the leader demanded, looking over at Keyda. She sighed.
"Nothing bad…just watch."
Cole ran out of the village boundaries, and the Guardian swooped down so he could board. Within moments he was at the right altitude and he looked down at the dragon.
"Are you sure you're ok with this?"
Something tells me you're going to make a habit of this…
Cole smirked apologetically and the dragon opened its mouth and began to release a thick wave of earth down towards the village. The villagers screamed out, many fleeing in the opposite direction, but after a bit they realized that the dragon wasn't attacking. A thick mound of earth began to stretch its way around the village as the Dragon flew around it. The Leader watched in amazement as the Dragon made a complete circuit and landed again near the entrance, leaving a space so that the village wasn't totally closed off.
Cole slipped off the dragon, patting its neck and saying thanks before heading back into the village.
"And how is this different than when we used dragons?!" the Leader asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Because I asked, and he said he would." Cole said simply. "There is definitely a difference between doing something because you chose to and because you are forced to. The thing is…the whole realm has needs right now, yeah? We all have to get used to these seemingly impossible changes…but there are ways of problem solving." He gestured to the dirt-wall. "It's just going to take some effort in working together and getting along."
The Oni Leader turned her attention to the wall, not wanted to comment at his words. She frowned, hand on her chin.
"Not a very nice-looking wall, is it? It's just a mound, really…"
"Right now, yeah…" Cole said with another smirk. He turned to the gathered crowd, which continued to look on, curious and wary. "So I guess it's time for all of us to get our hands dirty…"
Keyda was silent as they flew back to the fortress, her arms aching from helping shape the mounds into hard-packed walls.
"Word will get out." She finally said, and Cole didn't answer. She realized he was waiting for her to continue and she sighed.
"The other Oni will see this as weakness…as going soft."
"It's not going soft." Cole said, and she shifted her position behind him.
"We just helped a random, literally poor-as-dirt village build a wall…"
"And?"
"And that's not something Oni leaders are supposed to do!" Keyda pointed out. Cole finally turned to face her, smiling gently.
"Keyds…who cares? Everything has changed now…the point of you leading the Oni right now is that you aren't like the rest of them."
She blew hair out of her face. "That's not what I meant…"
"The union took a huge part of the Oni's lifestyle away from them; owning dragons, hunting them…hating them. Suddenly it's all illegal and now there's a void in their lifestyle…and if you are only going to villages to tear them apart and look for what you can take away, you'll only fan the flames. It's not enough to just take away the bad when you make change happen—you have to replace it with something better. The Oni have needs, and their needs have to be met in some way. If they need to fight for everything in order to meet those needs, they will. Aren't you the one who said you're tired of fighting?"
Keyda frowned. "That might work in Ninjago, but it won't work here…"
"Didn't it work today?" he asked. "Everyone pitching in…didn't you notice that none of them really had a problem with how close the Guardian was at the end of the day? I'm willing to bet that if I was to fly back there, I could land this dragon right next to the village and none of them would even complain about it. We have to start building trust."
"There are going to be people who hate it…who fight against it." She pointed out after considering his words.
"Sure…you can't please everyone." He didn't sound worried as he turned to face forward again. Her frown deepened.
"I know what you're trying to do…and yeah, after today, I can see it working somewhat. But the other leaders are already targeting you. Imagine what they'll try when…"
"Which is why I agreed to the guard." He cut in, turning again to give her a smile to put her at ease. She just raised an eyebrow, not impressed.
"I know it's a risk…and I know you're worried about me. That's why I'm going to be careful. I won't take any unnecessary risks…"
"I've heard that one before," she said dryly and his smile became sheepish.
"I know. But this time, I know we are stepping on eggshells. If it gets too dangerous, I'll let you add as many guards as you want."
She finally sighed, hugging him tighter.
"I'm holding you to that!" she said and he laughed.
"I know you will."
"What game are you playing?!"
The leaders were angry, like she knew they would be, but she found that she didn't care as much anymore.
"I'm not playing any game…" she said calmly, and the Western Leader's vein bulged in his neck.
"You are deliberately visiting villages and helping them with trivial chores; you are acting below your status!"
"Yes…I did do that this week." Keyda said coolly. "For the most part, however, I am confined to this dreaded fortress because of other more important responsibilities…like these meetings."
Her biting undertone was not lost to the leaders, and they glared at her as she continued.
"Considering that I'm not allowed to go out to help stabilize the villages, I've delegated that task to Cole; he's the one heading the rehabilitation efforts…"
"The Outsider?!" Another leader spat. "You've trusted the outsider with…"
"I honestly don't know how you expect me to please you." Keyda's tone was sharp, but not angry. "You say I cannot go to the villages because my status is too high…you say that his status is decidedly lower than mine, yet now you make it seem that even though he is a low status he cannot go help villages with rehabilitation?" Her eyes flashed as she spread her hands out on the table. "Perhaps it would be best if I just explained to you now that I have no intention of doing things that will please you, as you find it necessary to go behind my back and organize attacks on my personal guest…"
"What are you insinuating?!" The Western Leader spluttered, and she raised an eyebrow.
"You may all pretend as much as you wish…" she hissed. "But hear me now…if you ever try something like that again, I will personally destroy you. You don't want me to be soft? This is me not being soft. Now get out." She dismissed them and they stormed out, furious. Heavy Metal shook his head, but this time Keyda couldn't help but laugh at him.
"Still not satisfactory to you?" she asked.
"Well…you sorta kept your temper this time." Heavy Metal said finally and she smirked at him.
"So…improvement?"
He had a ghost of a smile at that.
"Something like that."
Cole entered the tiny room, shaking his head at the thought of someone living in these conditions. Slavery was definitely something that was going to have to be addressed soon. The pale teen looked up as he entered, and his expression immediately became wary and fearful. Cole tried to give him a smile, but Hershel was already spouting off a stream of words before Cole could say anything.
"I…I had to tell her…she ordered me to. I know you told me not to, but…but techinically my loyalty first…"
"Woah, Hershel, calm down!" Cole said, holding his hands up. "I'm not here to get after you…I was just seeing how you were getting on."
Hershel's expression immediately became uncertain and even suspicious.
"…Why?"
"Because you're hurt." Cole said, taking a seat on the sleeping mat next to Hershel's. The Oni didn't say anything, and Cole looked around the room.
"Are all slaves forced to live like this?" he asked, and Hershel shook his head.
"We get special privileges for serving the Ruler directly…Most slaves are stuffed in a few larger rooms below the kitchens….they put as many as 20 of us in one room…"
Cole shook his head; it was wrong. He sighed and looked back Hershel.
"We? Who else is…"
He was interrupted as the door opened and a small Oni girl went to walk in. Cole recognized her as Keyda's other personal slave. She stopped when she caught sight of Cole and disappeared back out the door quickly, closing it on her way.
"Oh…I didn't mean to get in the way…" Cole said. He turned back to Hershel. "She's in here with you, then?"
Hershel looked a little defensive. "Yes. That's Syn, my sister."
Cole blinked in surprise; he hadn't met any Oni with siblings. He also hadn't realized that the 7 or 8 year old girl was related to the young teen in front of him.
"I didn't realize…"
"It's rare, for Oni to have more than one kid." Hershel said with a shrug. "But it means that neither of us ever has to be totally alone."
"No folks?" Cole asked quietly, and Hershel's expression darkened.
"We got folks…but they only wanted us for our extra labor. When it got to the point that they claimed we ate to much, they got rid of us. Slave traders picked us up, and here were are."
Cole's frown deepened; there was so much he didn't understand about Oni culture. How much of it were they going to be able to change? There was so much oppression…so much wrong. Would they ever be able to root it all out?
Hershel suddenly seemed to catch himself, and he looked up at Cole in almost a panic.
"I…I didn't mean to complain. We are both very lucky for the position we are in now…there is no greater honor than to serve the Ruler of the Oni."
Cole gave him a sad smile.
"It's ok, Hershel. You don't have to be afraid of me,"
Hershel relaxed, though he shook his head.
"I saw what you did to those other slaves…I think I haven't really been as afraid of you as I should be."
"Hey…that was self defense!" Cole complained and he caught a ghost of a smile on the teen's face. Cole stood to go.
"I hope that leg heals up soon, Hersh. And tell your sister I'm sorry; I didn't mean to kick her out of her own room." With that, the outsider disappeared out of the door. Hershel shook his head again. That guy was a mystery and unlike anyone the slave had ever met. And yet…he decided that wasn't exactly a bad thing.
"It isn't right." Cole said, and Keyda shifted her position next to him. They were sitting on the roof of the fortress, watching the sunset, and her head was on his shoulder.
"I know…" Keyda said. "I'd get rid of slavery tomorrow if I thought it would work. The thing is, a change like that has to be built up to."
"They're just kids." Cole murmured. His arm was wrapped around her, and he was unconsciously fiddling with the end of her braid with his hand.
"That's why I picked them for my personals." Keyda said quietly. "I remember when they got dragged in…Syn was so frail and weak that the Baron probably would have killed her if he had seen the purchase."
"He didn't buy them? Then who did?"
"The Baron was generally above any interaction with slaves…he just liked doling out the punishment for behavior problems. He made Heavy Metal do all the everyday things."
"And he didn't kill them." Cole said. Keyda shrugged.
"The Baron had just wiped out a whole group the same week; it was fever season and he had no patience for sickness. Heavy Metal was expected to make up the numbers somehow, so he took on everyone that was brought in." She sighed, her expression darkening as she remembered back to those days. It still made her sick to think about her past, but she found the more she actually talked about it, the less ensnared she felt in her memories. "I kept to myself mainly…but I remember them getting picked on. They eventually learned how to stay out of the way, basically invisible, just as I had…"
Cole was quiet and she looked up to see his jaw clenched; he was angry.
"You hate hearing about it," she guessed, and he looked away.
"No…well, yes. I'm glad you talk to me about it…and it's not that I want you to stop. It's just that everything in your past…" he sighed angrily. "It just makes me angry that all of that happened to anyone. The fact that it happened to you, and not even just you…"
"It was wrong. But there wasn't anything we could do about it…so we just moved forward. You either survived or you didn't, the way it used to be."
"I'm sorry." he said. He was silent a moment and he suddenly shook his head, scoffing at some memory. "And I thought my life was hard at times…I had no idea…"
"It's ok," Keyda smiled up at him. "I'm glad your life wasn't like this."
"The Baron…did he even have anything to do with any of you, then? Or was it just Heavy Metal?"
Keyda hesitated.
"The Baron generally stayed out of slave affairs…" she said carefully. The sun had all but disappeared, and a few stars were becoming visible in the dimming skies.
"So you never saw him?"
"…I saw him more than most, to be honest." she said quietly. He didn't press further, but she could tell he wanted her to say more. She bit her lip, not wanting to get into details.
"He targeted me, and I couldn't figure out why. It was a mystery to everyone, why he pulled me out of the rubble, why he gave me so much attention. The other slaves began targeting me as well, lauding in the fact that I was so attacked, as well as envying me that I was given so much attention. It made me so angry…It wasn't like I wanted the attention. I wanted nothing more than to just be invisible. When I discovered that wasn't possible, I decided to at least try to get to a higher station in life; at least then there would be a reason for a different kind of treatment." She shifted again, moving closer as the air became colder. "It's hard to explain…"
"Why did the Baron target you so much?"
"I never knew, until..." she swallowed, her stomach twisting as she remembered. "Until after I thought you died in the arena. Something snapped and the Baron threw me in some kind of extraction chamber…"
He felt her shudder and he turned to look at her, concerned.
"Keyds, you don't have to talk about it…"
"It's ok." she said quietly. She took another breath. "He said the reason he took me from my village and targeted me was because of my potential to hate."
"What does that even mean?"
"Apparently the reason that more Oni can't do what I do is because they don't have the capacity to care, so they can't achieve true Hatred. Apathy blocks the power, and that's the state that everyone has been living in for decades…" she trailed off and he seemed to be considering her words.
"He targeted me over the years…I never knew why but looking back he was trying to break me. Get me to care about something so he could take it away…but it never worked." she paused again. "Until I met you."
"So that's what you meant…when you said it was my fault." Cole said quietly, remembering their conversation on the battlefield. She closed her eyes.
"That's why he targeted you…why he kept hurting you. It was to get to me, to break me, control me…" she shuddered again. "Everything that happened to you was my fault…"
"NO, Keyda, it wasn't your fault." He said, tightening his grip around her shoulders. "The Baron was a monster, one who hurt people to get what he wanted. You can't blame yourself for his monstrosities…"
She was silent, eyes still closed as she leaned against him.
"And….and I don't believe that Oni aren't capable of affection." he continued. She opened her eyes and pulled back to look up at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, just look at Hershel and Syn. They care about each other, Keyda…it's clear. I'd be willing to bet that many Oni have cared about things before; its just they don't know what to call it, or the feelings scare them and they shove them away, or they hide them for fear of what others will do." He sighed. "It's a nation of suppressed and oppressed people…and I don't know how we're ever going to fix it all."
She thought about what he said and finally shrugged.
"I guess all we can do is take it one day at a time."
"Yeah…I guess so."
They sat awhile longer, looking up at the stars that were more numerous as the night grew darker. Suddenly Keyda started coughing and Cole looked over in alarm.
"Are you ok?!"
She blinked at the intensity of his question, and she nodded.
"I'm fine…but it's getting cold. I think its time I go inside…"
He stood immediately and followed her inside. He walked her to her quarters and she gave him a kiss before going in to go to sleep. The door closed and Cole turned and nearly took out little Syn, who had been trying to get around him to slip into the room.
"OH, sorry, Syn…" he said, but the Oni girl looked at the ground, trying to get out of sight. He put out a hand and touched her shoulder.
"Hey, are you ok?"
The little Oni looked up finally, giving a single nod. He smiled.
"How's your brother?"
"He's doing better…he should be back to work soon," she said, her voice as quiet and timid as it had been that night she had come to get him. He didn't really know what else to say, and she seemed eager to get back to work. He gave her a comforting smile.
"If you need anything….just let me know, ok?"
She gave another quick nod before rushing to Keyda's door and slipping in.