Well... I'M BACK! AND BETTER THAN EVER! See guys... school has been... eh DECENT. It's my last year in middle school about to go into high school so... you know entrance exams, interviews, grades, and etc. LOTS OF WORK! Like this past Friday, I had a test in every subject... TT^TT.

People have been annoying and with graduation a few months away along with some conferences I have to go to... things have been very busy on my end.

But... with a new computer and for the past few months sharpening my writing skills. I have decided to COME BACK since... I miss you guys! :D

ENOUGH ABOUT ME! Hope you guys are doing well and... enjoy the chapter!

Nya and Cole run through the town of Marrette together. Nya laughs as Cole struggles to catch up to her.

"You'll have to try a lot harder to catch up to me!" Nya yells.

Before Nya knew it, she tripped and fell onto the ground. Cole catches up with her and bends down to pick her up. Nya couldn't help but frown at Cole's emotionless face. Nya expected an angry look or some hurtful words from him. Why won't he express his emotions for once?

"You shouldn't have been running through the town. Someone could have been hurt. You don't want to return to Jayson with scars and bruises all over you. The both of us will get a lecture."

Nya gets up from the ground. "You're right Cole. Jayson can go and on about being the perfect little lady. I just want to get out of the castle once and a while. Sadly, if I go out too much..."

Nya stops herself from speaking. She couldn't tell Cole the reason why she wasn't allowed to go outside. If she did, it may cause some problems between her and the Count.

"Is there a problem Nya? You're usually not this quiet." Cole asks.

Nya looks at Cole but turns away in an instant, "I'm fine. It's nothing. Let's just get some groceries and head back into the caste. Count Jayson is going to be worried if we return too late."

Cole and Nya continue to walk through the town, looking for grocery stands. Cole can tell by Nya's silence that something was up. Sure, he didn't like her attitude and behavior sometimes but she has the right to be herself. Since Gale isn't here, maybe she can't have specific conversations with him.

"I know that I'm not usually this quiet but..."

Cole looks over at Nya to see her looking down at her feet.

"... Ever since Jayson and I ran away from our parents... I haven't noticed that my personality changed. My parents used to make me and Kai work like slaves... While my parents worked long hours... Kai and I worked hard hours as well. That was until Jay came into my life. He spoiled me and eventually we fell in love with each other. Kai accepted it so he came along with us, along with everyone else..."

"I'm sorry to cut you off Nya but what was Count Jayson's occupation before he ran away with you and your brother?" Cole asks.

Nya looks up at Cole, "Believe it or not... Count Jayson is a prince. Well... he WAS until his father found out about me."

"He forbid your relationship with Jay, didn't he?"

Nya sighs, "Yes... Both of his parents forbid the relationship. Jason embezzled over $2.56 trillion from his kingdom and took some servants with him as well. As a result, the two of us have a bounty over our heads. That's why I'm not allowed outside without someone with me."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Nya sees a sad expression taking place on Cole's face. Does he actually feel bad for her? Is he going to cry or are tears going to travel down his face? Maybe he'll forget the shopping trip and the both of them can talk more about their lives? Nya was curious about Cole's past. Sure his parents did die but how did he become so good at magic? Why would someone as powerful as him work for Count Jayson?

"Nya can you hold these two bags for me?"

Before Nya could respond, two heavy bags are thrown into her hands. Nya gives Cole an angry glare.

"When did you get all of this stuff and why are my bags so HEAVY?!" Nya asks.

Cole answers, "While you were thinking I stopped by a few stands. I was holding four heavy brown bags. Since there are TWO of us I gave you two bags to hold."

Nya growls but holds the bags. She gives Cole the angriest glare her face can make. Cole looks back on her with a confused expression. He didn't understand why she was giving him a constipated expression. Did she need to use the bathroom?

"Are you trying to scare me or do you need to use the bathroom?" Cole asks in disgust.

Nya yells at him, "Why would you think that?! I'm trying to show you that I'm ANGRY! I'm ANGRY AT YOU! Why do I have to hold these HEAVY BAGS?! You're a magician! Just poof us up a cart or whatever!"

Cole gives Nya a sharp look, "You need to watch who you're talking to. As I said before you can get away with your garage with everyone but me. When you're with me, you're going to work. After you work, then you may rest."

Cole's face maybe Nya turn a bit pale. She didn't argue or talk back to Cole. Nya nods her head and whimpers. This makes a small smile form on Cole's face. Nya notices the smile and she smiles as well. The bags Nya was holding felt a lot lighter. Maybe Cole's little smile is magical.

"I like what you're doing."

Cole looks at Nya, "What?"

"You're little smile. It's not that noticeable to most people but..."

"But what?"

"From my angle I can see the ends of your lips curling! You're smiling! It's a small smile but it's a start!You know what, let's make a deal!"

Cole was curious. What is this deal that Nya wants to make with him? She's smart enough to know that he won't agree to just any deal. Maybe she's going to ask him to take her out more behind Count Jayson's back at a price? Cole isn't one who likes to be disobedient... unless the rule or command is ludicrous.

"I'll be willing to work and be obedient! You can discipline me if you want! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it!"

"That's nice." Cole says.

Nya's smile grows, "But here's the catch! I'm going to teach you on how to have fun! I'm going to teach you how to show emotion in the right way! You're going to smile, cry, whatever! We'll read, draw, write, whatever! I assure you that this is going to be the best deal you'll ever had!"

Cole thinks about it. Since Jayson wants her to be a lady it would work in his and Jayson's favor... but Nya needs to be herself as well. Cole can't FORCE her to be someone she isn't.

"That's a good bargain but one thing I want you to add."

Nya looks at Cole, "What do you want to add?"

"Be a disciplined version of yourself. I don't want you to be a slave or some robot. Be obedient, hard-working, and yourself."

Nya smiles, "I like that addition Cole! Now we have a deal?"

"Yes. Yes we do."

Cole holds out his hand to shake but Nya drops her bags and hugs him. She laughs at Cole's shock.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Cole I'm telling you that this is going to be the best deal you ever had!"

Little they know, Kai was watching them from a hill far away.

"Count Jayson I'm sorry that you had to hear this..."

"Kai... it's OK. It's OK!"

Gale and Kai look at each other. Of course the two of them knew that Count Jason wasn't OK. The love of his life has been spotted hugging her newest mercenary! Count Jayson couldn't imagine the conversation those two were hugging to lead up to Nya hugging. Hugging leads to kisses and kisses lead to touching and touching leads to children!

"What are you going to do about it Count Jayson? Separate the two?" Gale asks.

"I remember telling the two of you to try and separate them!" Count Jason yells.

Gale scoffs, "No offense Count Jayson but wouldn't it be weird to just walk up between them during some conversation? They would get suspicious! Since Cole is a magician he'll just use some 'Abra Kadabra' on us! We'll have to do it in secret. At the point you want us to strike, we'll pounce!"

Count Jayson sighs, "You have a point Gale. Keep on watching the two of them, if this gets worse... I'm going to kill Cole. I have too much on the line to just throw it all away."

Gale and Kai look at each other. Count Jayson threatening to murder somebody? It's unspeakable! Gale couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Count Jayson will send Kai and her on secret missions to stalk his love and her little friend. This means that the Count will spend more tome trying to correct his lover than with her!

Kai on the other hand was happy about this decision. If Cole and Nya get caught doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, yes, Nya will get in a lot of trouble but Cole... that BASTARD... will have his head chopped off, burned alive, shot in the heart, etc. When he's outside of Nya's life, the Count and his Lady's love will be indescribable.

"Do as you wish Count Jayson." Kai and Gale say in unison.

The door opens and Garmadon and Misako pop their heads through the door. Count Jayson looks at the two with an angry facial expression.

"What do the two of you want?" He asks with a harsh tone.

Garmadon and Misako look at each other. Darmadon speak, "Lady Nya and Cole came back with groceries. Zane wants to know what you wanted for dinner. Lady Nya made a suggestion, she wants tomato soup with macaroni and cheese on the side."

"Tell Zane to ignore her request. Tell him to make lasagna with salad on the side."

"Ok Count Jayson." Misako and Garmadon bown and leave the room.

Kai walks up to Count Jayson and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want me to bring Nya upstairs?" Kai asks.

The Count skies his head, "No, I'll speak to her in private after dinner."

"Alright Cole let's continue to read the story! It's not that long. I think it's about like 10 chapters! If we read a chapter everyday, we'll be down with it soon!" Nya says.

Cole glares at Nya. "Why do you want to continue it so badly? Is there a specific part you like?"

"No!" Nya answers, "I just like romance! I like loves stories and songs and stuff like that!"

"But we didn't even eat dinner. Are you hungry?"

Nya opens a bottle of wine and pours it into two cups. Cole gives her an irritated look. Nya looks at him and smirks.

"I was going to pour some apple juice for the two of us but I have to be mature! So what's more mature then some red wine? I won't drink too much though! We have to be mature young adults, which means being drunk is not on the list!" Nya says with a smirk.

"Well if you want red wine that's fine with me. Since you've poured a cup for me, I won't deny it." Cole says.

Nya give him his glass and she sits next to him on a love seat. Cole opens the book while Nya tries to get comfortable. Once she is comfortable, Nya holds up her glass.

"CHEERS!" She squeals.

Nya looks at the confused expression on Cole's face. She sighs and shakes her head in disappointment.

"You and I say 'cheers' and we hit our cups together!" Nya explains.

Cole nods his head. "Ok then. Cheers."

The two friends hit their cups together. Nya grabs the book from Cole's lap and looks at the second chapter.

"OK I'll read it Mister so sit back and listen to my beautiful voice!"

Ren and Takanouske make it to the ice cram parlor just in time. Ren got vanilla and chocolate ice cream while Takanouske got rocky road and jamoca. The two of them talk to each other for ten minutes until Ren takes out her phone to look at the time.

"Oh my gosh! It's 5:30! I have to go back to Kite and Eight to get the berries! My family might get worried and start looking for me! See you later Takanouske and thanks for everything!"

Ren and Takanouske wave goodbye to each other. Ren starts to run back to where she left Kite and Eight. By the time she returns, Kite smiles and gives her a basket full of berries. Ren accepts the basket with a bright smile.

"Thank you for picking these for me! I'm sure it took you a while!"

Eight returns the smile, "You're welcome Ren!"

Kite wipes his brow, "Yeah it did takes us an hour or so. It would have taken us longer but I had Eight by my side to help me out! I picked the juiciest berries we could find in this field. We were going to search more but we didn't want you to come back and panic. I hope you're happy with what we gave you."

Ren's smile grows, "I'm fine with the berries you have given me! I hope I can see the two of you tomorrow. I'm not doing any work tomorrow."

"We'll see you tomorrow as well!" Kite and Eight say in unison.

Ren runs down the hill back to her family's house. Her family is happy with all the berries that Ren brought back to them. Ren doesn't tell her family about her meeting with Kite, Eight, and Takanouske during dinner. The family of three enjoy a beautiful, delicious berry pie together. After she eats the pie, Ren goes to her room and falls asleep.

ยง

The next day, Ren is outside, sitting by a nearby lake. She sits along the lake with her feet in the water humming a tune. The light was forcing itself to bee seen through the trees and vines surrounding the lake. Birds chirped and bugs communicated with each other. Ten couldn't help but relax in this environment.

"Hey Ren! How are you doing?"

Ten turns around to see Takanouske, the boy she met yesterday. He runs over to her and takes a seat right next to her. He smiles at her and she returns a smile.

"I didn't really expect to see you here. I like to spend time at this lake because of its away from town. If I get annoyed or I just need a break from something, this is the first place I go to." Takanouske says.

Ren replies, "You're right. Not a lot of people know about this place and that's a good thing. If people found out about this place, they would tear down the forest and turn the lake into a pool for some hotel or they might get rid of the lake in general."

Takanouske nods his head in agreement, "It's nice to see that someone else enjoys this just as much as I do! Who knew that one of these days that I would meet someone kinda like me?"

Ren giggles at Takanouske's comment. She was glad to have someone as lively and cheerful as she was. Sure, everyone has their own problems but knowing that someone else is going through the same thing makes everything feel better. Ten can see this as a beautiful friendship in the making.

From a distance, Kite looks down at the two teens talking. He couldn't help but feel enmity toward the boy. Who is he and what makes him so special to Ren? Kite spent an hour yesterday with his younger brother picking berries for Ren and her family! What has he done for her?

Kite turns away from the duo in disgust. Kite didn't like what he was seeing at all. The little blonde boy talking to Ren shouldn't even be near her! If anything, that should be him down there! This boy is crossing a dangerous line! Kite knows that he'll have to come up with a plan to spend more time with Ren. He's going to need all the help he can get to stop that blonde boy from getting close to Ren.

Somebody tugs on Kite's coat, "Hey big brother."

Kite looks down to see Eight holding on to him, "Is there something wrong? You look upset."

"It's OK Eight! I'm fine. I was thinking about a few things..."

"Like what big bro?"

"Eight I need you to do me a favor."

Eight looks at his brother curiously, "What do you need big bro?"

"Since you're so young and adorable to certain people," Kite says, "would you like to help me stop someone from stealing Ren from your big brother? You see, I want Ren and I... to be more then just friends and in order to do that, we'll have to take out the competition."

Eight didn't understand why Kite wanted a boy out of Ren's life. Kite can see the confusion on his face. Since Eight is too young to understand what dating is. Little does Eight know, Kite is using his lack of knowledge to his advantage. Kite knew Eight didn't want to refuse, he knows that Eight wants him to be happy all the time.

"Sure Kite! I'll help you and Ren become more then friends!" Eight says.

Kite pats his little brother on the head, "Thanks Eight. I owe you one!"

The two brothers run away from the chatting teens, leaving them alone by the lake.

"Oh my gosh! Why would the older brother do that to his younger brother? That's so cruel! Is it wrong for Ren to be friends with another boy? Why does he feel so threatened?" Nya asks angrily.

She turns to Cole, who was sipping on his wine. Nya looks at her cup to see it empty. She places the empty cup on a nearby coffee table. She sighs.

"It's pretty upsetting that the teen feels threatened by another boy, because he picked some berries for her, that doesn't mean anything. You can tell that Kite was trying to get Ren to fall for him." Cole says.

Nya eyes Cole, "How do YOU know?"

"He kept on dragging it. He was telling Ren that he would of been out there longer if it wasn't for his little brother. Kite said that he picked the best berries out for her and that he would have went deeper into the field to get more."

Nya nods her head slowly, "True, true. It even says that he wiped his brow. He should of taken off his shirt, maybe that would work."

Nya sees Cole glare at her. She smiles and rolls her eyes. "Let's go to the dining room to see if dinner's ready! You must be starving like I am! My stomach was grumbling until I had some of that red wine!"

Cole finishes his wine and helps Nya up from the love seat. "Are you sure you're fine Nya? Did you have a bit too much?"

Nya laughs, "I'm good! Just a wee bit on the hyper side! Let's just go to the dining room! I hope Zane made the macaroni extra cheesy!"

The two of them leave the library.

BOOM! Chapter 4! I think I'll focus on one story at a time for now! I hope you guys enjoyed this attempt for a comeback! I've missed all of you! Now I have one important question for you guys:

Did anything in this chapter seem ODD to you?

Have a good day/night!

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