Boredom is Blue

Katy's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for late update! You guys know the reasons, but I hope you're not too mad at me. This chapter is dedicated to Birthdaypi, because it's taken me so long to write her commission. She wanted me to write about Ken's backstory, which I thought was a great idea. But instead of just tacking it on the end, I thought it would work better to weave it into the actual chapter. So, Ken's going to tell Zane a little more about herself, and any backstory parts will be in italics, and you can thank Birthdaypi for them. Happy reading!

Chapter Seventeen

Ken's P.O.V

Is it weird that I feel really comfortable right now? In a tight, dark, contained space that would no doubt make Jay scream, with lord knows what liquid dripping onto my knee. Yeah, pretty freaking weird, I'd say. But I am. Like I could quite happily sit here, in the somehow reassuring darkness, forever and not move. Oh, scratch that, my leg's cramping now. Fuck. Other that increasing discomfort, I could almost be in bliss.

Because Zane's arms, legs, whole body, really, is bent around mine.

Nestled as I am, my back against his chest, his legs on either side of me, I feel safe. Does that make me weak? I certainly hope not; this feeling could be addictive. Besides, I'm sure everyone, men and women alike, just need to feel safe in someone's arms sometimes. To feel protected, that you don't have to worry about anything, because you know they will look after you. For some bizarre reason, I feel that way. That even though I'm in a place that I used to live in, with people searching to find and kill me, I'm not scared, because I know that Zane is there, and he'll protect me.

It's a heady feeling, to say the least. My breath shortens, but my body remains relaxed against him. I can feel the gentle tickle of his slow breath in my hair, the soft coolness of his skin. Okay, I'm getting entirely too overwhelmed by this. Calm down, Kenny. Normal people don't react to handsome men this way.

"You've been quiet, Makenna," his quiet, musical voice brushes past my ear.

"Yeah, I-uh, I thought we had to be quiet. So, you know, we don't get found and killed brutally." Almost unwillingly, my voice takes a dry, sarcastic tone. Great, now he thinks I'm a bitch.

"If we speak softly, it should be fine. And I find myself, though I do not know why, desiring to know more about you."

I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted. He wants to know more about me, but he sounds rather grudging as he says that. Like, he wants to, but he doesn't like that he wants to. What a dick.

"Ask away," I say with subtle annoyance.

In a voice laced with confusion, but apparently unwilling to press the issue, he continues. "So, if it is agreeable to you, would you perhaps tell me more about your family? You have a sister, do you not?"

"Yes, I do," I reply through clenched teeth.

"Do you not like your sister?"

"I love my sister. I'm just not very happy with her at the moment."

"Why?"

Dammit, he's determined to know; going so far as to ignore my acidic tone. And try as I might, I couldn't resist the flashes of memory dragging me back to a time when I was not happy.

In my short seventeen years of life, I haven't had much to perk me up. My father… wasn't a nice man. Not in the least. And my mother, dependant as she was, was irrevocably devoted to him, even as he beat her in a drunken rage. From a young age, I was filled with anger. Anger at my father's cruelty, at my mother's weakness. I only had one light, one anchor holding me together. A reason not to run as far and as fast as I could. My little sister, Katherine.

She was angelic, all round cheeks and dimples, even at fourteen. Kit had the same dark tresses as me, but she had loped hers all off in an adorable pixie cut that suited her sweetly round face. I never had the heart to cut my own hair. She had my mother's eyes, a gentle hazel. Kit was even shorter than me, though she was convinced that she was going to have another growth spurt. I didn't want to tell her that it was never going to happen.

Kit wasn't like me. Where I was an angry snarl, she was a soft giggle. Of course, that meant she was far more vulnerable to my father. Kit was a flower, and she needed to protected. I was that protector, deflecting my father's incensed attacks from her. She barely ever saw the problems in our family. I guess I should be blamed for that. Being too protective of her led to her having an apparently incurable naïveté. At the time, it didn't really matter.

But then that day. That awful day.

Stepping through the stained, wooden front door, the house is eerily quiet. Immediately on guard, as it's never quiet, I walk slowly through the hallway. Expecting to find my father passed out somewhere, I'm rather surprised to see my mother's petite form seemingly asleep in the hall, leaning against the door of Kit's bedroom.

Crouching beside her, I shake her awake.

"What's happened? Where's Kit?" I ask her intently as she rubs her forehead, a nasty bump forming. It's unreasonable, I know, but I can't forgive her for not taking me and my sister away when she found out what my father really was. I'm not sure if I ever will.

"She… she ran."

"She ran where?" I demand angrily.

"I-I don't know," she mutters pathetically.

I sigh, impatient. "Just tell me what happened."

"Katherine came home early. Your father, he was drinking and shouting at me because I foolishly broke a glass. You know how Katherine's never really seen him that way before. She cried at him to leave me alone. I tried to explain that it was my fault, that he was right to berate me. But she didn't listen, and your father, well, he put her in her place."

At this point, my hands were clenched tight, my nails tearing into my palms. Vastly contrasting emotions warred within me. Rage ordered me to yell, anguish commanded me to scream, pain instructed me to sob. But the top of that, was the overwhelming sense of failure. I failed. I didn't save her.

"Katherine, she… she ran. She took a backpack."

"How long ago?"

"An hour ago."

Shoving my mother back against the wall, I stand and determinedly march to my room. Mother tries to follow me, weakly grabbing my arm. I quickly shrug her off. After throwing some clothes into a bag, I pull my bed roughly from the wall. Feeling along the skirting board, I find the notch and with my finger nails, yank it away from the wall. Inside, I had hidden away money, every scrap I could find. Almost two thousand dollars was there. Swiftly pocketing the cash, I turn and storm down the hallway. Again, my mother tries to stop me.

"Will you find her and bring her back? We- we'll be a family."

Slightly turning my head, I meet her eye with the corner of mine.

"I'll find her, mother, but I will never bring her back."

It took me a month to find her. My money, though I extended it as far as I could, had just run out. I was in the middle of Ninjago City, following yet another dead-end lead, with no money. For the first time since leaving home, I felt doubt. Maybe I couldn't find her, after all. I failed her again. My baby sister, my Kit.

I wish I could say that this realisation came dramatically. That it was raining, that I was standing in the middle of a busy street in downtown Ninjago, that I fell onto my knees and at the moment, the one thing that I was looking for would find me. In truth, it wasn't raining. It wasn't busy. I didn't fall to my knees. Most importantly, what I was looking for didn't walk out of the mist.

No, I was alone. And I failed.

It wasn't until two weeks later that I found the Amazons. I had found a job waitressing at a seedy bar, the night shift. A group of rowdy women sat at a table in the corner. There was seven of them, and all but one was laughing. Going to serve them, I stop in shock.

There was Kit.

She was the quiet one, sitting in the corner. She was only fourteen, but she looked like she'd aged a decade since I last saw her. Her natural cheekiness that always shone in her eyes has morphed into an irresponsible kind of sneakiness. I didn't like it.

"Katherine?" I exclaim, staring at her.

"Makenna?!" she yells, jumping to her feet. I pull her into a tight hug. Other than the age in her face and eyes, she hasn't changed a bit. Strangely, she was wearing tight, leather armour. She even had a sword strapped to her waist.

"I can't believe I finally found you."

"I see. So you came from an abusive family." Zane's voice is carefully neutral, like the considerate idiot was afraid of upsetting me. Lucky for him, I'd gotten over it a year ago. I haven't forgiven my parents, not yet, but the thought of them doesn't fill me with rage like it used to.

"Yes, I did. It was hell, but I survived. Kit survived, too. Just in a different way."

I can feel the soft brush of his chin against my shoulder as he nods. "I never would have guessed, however. Trauma like that tends to leave a visible mark. But I did not see it in you. I am sorry. I really should have," he says, subdued. Then adds satirically, "and I am supposed to have a sixth sense."

Not really bothered as to why he said that, I remain silent. I can feel my feistiness being drained from me, even in my thoughts. Actually, I'm starting to sound a little like him. Dammit, that's really not going to work for me! Thinking about that time in my life is hard, and it probably always will be, but I'll be damned before I let the past ruin my future. Like Kit has.

"So, you found her, yes? How did you come to need our help in finding her?"

"Because the stupid little girl ran away again!"

We lived with the Amazons for three years. While I didn't appreciate the ideals (life without men, really?!) but I did enjoy the combat training. For the first time in my life, I was actually able to defend myself. It was liberating. There was no way I was ever going to let someone treat me the way my father treated me ever again.

Kit wasn't having so much fun. Probably because except for the day she left, I'd always prevented my father from hurting her. Usually by getting him to take it out on me instead, but she didn't need to know that. I guess she didn't have the same drive as I did. Or perhaps it just wasn't in her nature to be aggressive, to fight. I don't think it was a cowardice thing, though. Heavens know, she's braver than me. One hit from Father, and she had the bravery to run.

Eventually, she got sick of the Amazon life. I could feel her getting increasingly restless. I tried to convince her to try harder to appreciate the life here. It wasn't perfect, far from it, but at least we were free. She couldn't, though.

Then one day, she ran away again.

Didn't tell me, didn't take me with her. I would've gone. Doesn't matter where we are, as long as we were together. But no. She thought it was better just to leave without a word. Not even goodbye.

My anger kept me there, in the Amazon compound. How dare she leave me there?! After all I've done for her! I quickly got over my anger, but by then, it was too late. Any chance of finding a lead was long gone. Even when she disappeared before, I found some leads. A lot of them were dead ends, but even dead ends lead you somewhere. This time, nothing.

"I stayed with the Amazons for another year. I never stopped searching for hints as to where she went, but I could never find anything. The longer I stayed, the more I realised how sick and evil the Amazons had become. But after Kit had disappeared, they were keeping a close eye on me. They didn't want any more people to escape their control. Then I met Nya, and through her, all of you."

I finish my rather miserable story, but don't turn to look at him. I half wanted to see his reaction to all this, but the other part of me loathed to see the pity that I just knew would be coating his face.

But he only says, "I think you're much stronger than you think you are, Makenna."

I stay silent, and I do not turn. But I think he knows what his words mean to me.

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Author's Note:

Hey Hey Hey! So sorry for the late update, but you know all my excuses, so moving right along. I mad Ken's backstory a lot sadder than I intended, but hey, I think it works. Anyway, cute, Ken and Zane are bonding!

On to some reviews!

NorthAmericanJaguar: Don't worry, it will all be explained! You know how villains love to explain their evil plans and motivations. But some key events have to happen first.

ForeverDreamer12: Damn straight she likes him! Haha, yeah, thanks. I'm not abandoning any of my stories, promise.

Megietheballerina: Wouldn't want you to go insane, now, would I? I love frozen, so yes, I probably will make some reference to it.

Birthdaypi: Hey, man! How are ya? Hope you liked your commission, I think it work, even if it's really sad.

Waiting: So sorry to hear you were having a bad day, but am so glad I was able to brighten it for you.

Nya2468: Okay, okay, I won't! Yeah, me too. If the writers make Nya end up with Cole, I will probably break things.

Lya200: Yeah, they were really good :D I'm now a huge fan of Sensei Garmadon.

Nadenshka: More heartbreak! Mwahahaha!

NinjaMeap: Ken and Zane will have their own story, and it will be called Violence is White, the reasons for which will become clear, later.

Forgot My Name: What a weird thing to forget! Glad you love it

Nya909: I tried my hardest!

Awesomesauce Samurai 15: Why'd you need numbers in your name with a name like Awesomesauce? :P Super glad you love it!

Alright, munchkins, that's it from me! Know that I love you all, my precious readers, even the sneaky ones that hid in the shadows and don't review! That's all good, sometimes I don't review, either, I'm embarrassed to say. Please, everyone have spectacular weeks! Hope to update a little sooner next time!

Katy.