Meant to post this over the weekend. Oopsie.

Some things to know: Harumi may be OOC and this is set during SoG.

Chapter 1

Harumi's fingers curled around the steak knife. The man who called himself her father, the emperor, droned on. Something something something Sons of Garmadon. Blah blah blah blah blah ninja. On and on and on and on.

"...invitation to discuss your marriage."

Wait. What?

"I beg your pardon?" the woman who called herself Harumi's mother, the empress, said.

Oops, had she said that out loud? How could she broach this subject without getting in trouble? Again.

"To discuss marriage?" Harumi said slowly. Probably not the best way, but…

The emperor and empresses exchanged glances over the table. It was a moment before they turned their attention back to her.

Harumi's feet turned cold as the emperor spoke.

"We weren't sure how to bring this up with you," he said.

"So you decided to just drop this bit of information on me over dinner?" She pushed back from the table as she stood up, the chair squeaking against the floor.

"Temper, Harumi," the empress said, taking a slow drag of tea. "We've talked about this."

"I'm fifteen! I shouldn't, no one gets to, I don't want to get married!"

The emperor sighed and rose from his chair.

"That is enough," he said, his words clipped.

"No! I get a say in my life too. You can't just marry me off."

"Harumi, please," the empress said, still sitting and sipping her tea. "Sit down and we can discuss this. Temper."

Harumi bit her tongue, allowing the tears from the pain to prick at her eyes. Her blood was already muffling all other sounds in her ears. She needed to scream, shout, something. But they would only press all of this on her again in the morning.

"We have been in talks with Master Wu," the emperor said. "He is as fond of this idea as I am. But we do believe that the unification of the Jade Princess with one of the ninja will calm many troubles lurking in the minds of the people."

"What troubles?" she pressed. "Things have been peaceful –"

"There is talk," the empress said, setting the tea cup down quietly.

"Talk?"

"Talk of a group organizing that could be… dangerous."

"How is that any different than anything before?"

She bit the inside of her cheek. First it was the Skulkin, who made her real parents leave their tiny, little village. Then it was the Great Devourer who took them from her. Followed by the androids who destroyed the foster home she was living in. And then the ghost invasion. She… she lost a few friends to the ghosts. There were a few other things that happened, she was aware of that much, but they hadn't affected the city at large.

The emperor and the empress exchanged another look.

"Hutchins," the emperor said, his eyes sliding to their Master at Arms.

Behind her, Hutchins dismissed the staff waiting by for their orders. The disorganized cacophony of their footfalls faded away into the hall only to disappear when the door closed.

Only she, the emperor, the empress, and Hutchins remained. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

"We believe," the emperor said, picking the conversation back up, "that this group may be a terrorist organization targeting us. To protect the future of Ninjago, Master Wu and I agreed that a marriage to the ninja would keep you safe."

Harumi clenched her hands into fists, the crescents of her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms.

"Do you know what this group wants?" she asked.

"We have some ideas."

"But they matter less than your safety," the empress cut in. "The ninja can provide that."

"You're going to ask them to stay here."

"For some time, yes," the emperor said.

"Just until things calm down. Then, we can discuss what will happen next."

She bit the inside of her cheek.

"I'm fifteen," she pressed again. "I'm not old enough to get married."

The empress's eyes softened. For a moment, Harumi thought she was going to reach out to hold her hand. She didn't.

"Unfortunately," the emperor said, "circumstances are dire. I would rather not risk the safety and security of Ninjago's future."

"By having me married?"

"Harumi, watch your tone."

She clenched her jaw, averting her eyes from the both of them. Her half touched plate of food blurred before her eyes.

"We cannot risk anything happening to you," the empress said. "Without you, Ninjago has no one else to lead it. You do understand that, don't you?"

She gave a jerky nod.

"May I be excused now?" she said in a quiet voice.

"We have a little more to discuss," the emperor snipped.

"We can go over most of it tomorrow," the empress said. "She should get some rest."

The emperor heaved a sigh. Harumi didn't need to look at him to know he was breathing in through his nose. Mentally, he counting to ten to cool his temper. She did the same thing on more occasions in his presence than she could count.

"Fine," he said after a moment. Her eyes snapped up to look at him. A tear escaped an eye and she fought the urge to brush it away before either of them noticed. "But, one thing, they will be here tomorrow afternoon. If you are not on your best behavior…"

"Understood, father," Harumi said. She stood and gave them a curt bow. She didn't quite rush out of the door, but she didn't stay long enough to hear whatever they had to say next.

Her heart thudded against her sternum and her blood drowned out all other sound. She needed out. Out of the palace. She needed to hit something, do something.

When she reached her room, she closed the door and changed out of her formal kimono into some street clothes.

She was grateful she hadn't worn any makeup that day. It was one less thing she had to do. She would be fairly recognizable with all of that on, and the last thing she wanted was to be recognized.

She slipped open the door to her balcony and just stepped outside when there was a knock on her door. She froze in place, barely dragging in a gasp of breath while she waited.

"Your Highness," Hutchins said from the other side of the door. "I… I am truly sorry about all of this. It really is for the best, I do hope that you will see that. If not tomorrow or in the coming months, then after all of this is in the past."

She waited a moment longer, straining her ears to hear his footsteps leading away from her room. He spoke again.

"I did try, Your Highness, to stop all of this from happening. I am sorry I was not able to convince them to… to go with an alternate solution. I hope you can forgive me."

She heard his shuffle away, and leaned against the banister as she let out a shaky breath. Her eyes dragged up to the city beyond the walls. How was she going to go about all of this after she was married? Married to a ninja nonetheless.

She tugged her mask up to hide her face. This was going to be a challenge.