Master of the Mountain (Cole x oc)

Into The Dark

Author's Note:

Just a slight trigger warning, s/a is mentioned later in the chapter

The flying men lifting our ship steered us towards the Ivory Kingdom. Gasps of awe flew up from the ninja, but I remained silent, taking everything in. We all crowded around the railing of the ship, peering down at the city below.

"See? I told ya!" Jay exclaimed excitedly, "Amazing."

"I'll admit, I wasn't sure it would live up to the legend," Nya gushed, "But it's even more beautiful."

"The Ivory City of Shintaro," Wu mused, "Incredible!"

"You've seen one palace you've seen them all," I mumbled under my breath.

Kai, who was standing next to me, turned to me with disbelief, "How can you say that? This place is amazing!"

"Need I remind you that I had to serve Master Chen during the Tournament of Elements? The guy wasn't a king by any means, but he had us treat him like one. Soured my view of royalty forever."

We landed on an ivory white ledge which I assumed was a flight deck. Hailmar watched as we descended from the Bounty and led us into the throne room. We walked up a small flight of stairs and huge white doors at the top flew open.

"It is with great honor, King Vangelis, that I present the famed ninja of Ninjago!" Hailmar proclaimed as he flew over to the king as we stepped inside.

Vangelis stood from his throne. He, too, had a pasty white complexion. He wore a white robe which reached the ground and a badly receding hairline, though he didn't appear to be graying. And there was that winged eyeliner again... "Welcome, welcome! I'm most pleased that you were able to accept our invitation. It is an honor."

"The honor is ours," Wu responded, leading the ninja in a bow. I resisted until Cole elbowed me sharply in the gut. I shot him a glare and bowed begrudgingly. "Shintaro is beyond anything we could imagine."

"I am merely a figure head," Vangelis continued, "The citizens of our proud city are the heart of Shintaro."

I rolled my eyes.

"They're here!" came an excited, high-pitched squeal. I looked up to see a young girl flying down to the ground where attendants removed her wings. Something clicked inside of me. Something about her wasn't right and I was immediately put off by her presence.

"And please meet my heart, her royal Princess Vania," Vangelis said. My eyes flicked up and down the girl's figure, she was slightly on the heavier side, but not much. Her gold hair, which was tied up into a bun, contrasted her pale complexion and she wore a gown similar in color to Vangelis.

"I'm such a fan!" she gushed, "I've read all about your adventures. It was my idea to invite you to my birthday." She walked down the line of ninja, pausing in front of me, "Wait, I don't recognize you. You're not one of the ninja..."

Lloyd quickly jumped in, "This is Celine. She's a friend. Well, more like family. She's only recently joined the ninja team."

"Oh," She only hesitated a moment before continuing down the line before stopping at Cole and smiling. He returned the gesture, and Lloyd squinted down the line at him while my gaze dropped to the floor, arms curling around my waist, suddenly feeling extremely insecure.

"Well it's an honor to be here, princess," Cole grinned.

She turned back to the rest of the ninja, "So, is it true you've been to Hiroshi's Labyrinth?"

"Affirmative," Zane remarked.

"Competed in the Tournament of Elements?"

"Oh do we have stories to tell you!" Kai spoke. He nodded towards me, "That's where we met Celine."