Tales From The Master's Scroll | Ninjago One-shots

Fire Red | Show

Sarah ran as she had never run before, clutching the hand of the little girl as if her life depended on it.

Sorrowfully, the girl was the very reason Sarah's life was in danger. But she would protect her with every ounce of strength left in her body. She would gladly suffer at the hands of a love made in hell and give her life if it meant the girl could grow away from all this abuse and evil.

For what else was a mother's reason for living?

"Faster, Skylor!" Sarah panted, pulling the six-year-old girl after her. Branches brushed past them and twigs snapped under their thudding feet as they fled through the island grove. Nocturnal critters cried out in their respective howls while the dark clouds thwarted the moonlight from reaching the earth. 

Skylor followed her mother, not complaining about a single thing. She never faltered once even though her little legs were screaming in pain. She knew her mother was afraid of something and was trying to escape its scary claws. Skylor was just as scared of it. She wanted to put as much space between her and the palace as possible.

She wondered if it had anything to do with all those times her father had hit her mother. He did become very frightening when he was angry. But he never scolded her. Then why her mother? Did he not love her as much? They looked very alike. The identical blue eyes, the same red locks, and the matching, beautiful smiles. What was the difference then?

"Quick," Sarah whispered, picking her daughter up and tucking her between her legs. Hunching over her in a shielding manner, Sarah let the two of them slide down the mossy slope. Thorns and brambles tore at their clothes but they endured and finally tumbled out at the end. Tired, messy, and aching all over, they sat up and rested on the ground for a little bit.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked, quickly looking the girl over for any minor injuries.

"I'm fine, Mommy."

Sarah pressed a kiss on the girl's forehead and smiled at her in the dark. She ignored a tear that ran down her mud-smeared cheek. Skylor noticed it, shifting closer to her mother.

"Why are you crying?" she mumbled, reaching up and wiping the tear away. The gesture made the woman cry even more but she composed herself before her daughter got too concerned.

"Y-You know that song we sing together, don't you?" she murmured after a while, trying to change the subject.

Skylor creased her forehead. "The Jungle Princess?"

Sarah nodded, pulling the girl onto her lap. "Would you like to sing it now?"

Skylor's lips spread wide. "Yes."

The gentle night breeze teased their hair, throwing red against red while sapphire gazes locked onto each other. Sarah's words sounded first, beautiful and haunting in the now silent darkness.

"At the heart of the trees,
Hugged by a flower bed,
Lived the jungle princess,
With hair of fire red

"Her gown would flow after
Woven with woodland thread
And a coronet of amber
Lay gracefully on her head"

Skylor let the tune wash over her like magic. It warmed her as if she was basking in the sun's glory on a winter afternoon. The fear of something which had been terrifying her up till now vanished, replaced only by the desire to join her mother. Her lips parted and she sang, her voice not as melodious but full of passion regardless.

"Deep within the forest
By a lake of rainbow hue
She would sing to the birds
And gather periwinkles blue

"Elements of every nature
Would flow through her veins
But she'd grow tired of magic
For one could never remain"