ninjago oneshots

once upon a time

in a kingdom very far away, there was the jade princess. she was gorgeous, pale as the moon, with long, silky white hair. nobody really knew why her hair was that color. white was an oddity in their kingdom. the princess never talked, never made a sound, and thus she was labeled the "quiet one."

on this cloudy day in her kingdom, she was watching the execution of a poor citizen down in the courtyard. her kingdom was notorious for its brutality, but not in the bloody, warring way. death was swift, clean, and very precise. no collateral damage.

she had been called to the throne room today, with no idea why. her parents spoiled her, but she didn't care much for them, or their board of advisors that they was always with. her real parents had been taken away from her. nobody knew why the king and queen had chosen her to take in, but she didn't appreciate it.

she had learned to accept it, though, especially after lord garmadon had fled from their kingdom. she had idolized the noble, almost, for being the one to save her from the falling of the building that killed her parents. but rumor had it that he had a child in another kingdom, and he had fled.

cowards, all of them.

in a kingdom not so far away from the first one, there was a prince by the name of lloyd. nobody asked his last name, nobody questioned it. he was just born with no last name. his mother had insisted on it.

queen misako was not a very good queen, in the eyes of her citizens. and now she was ordering lloyd to be taught at a school in their neighboring kingdom. darkley's, it was called. notorious for the royals being educated there, but also its "bad" practices. lloyd had argued with his mother earlier that morning.

"why can't i just stay with my tutor?" he had asked, his green eyes flashing.

"it'll be beneficial," she had told him. "plus, i'm leaving for a diplomatic meeting, and i won't be back for a while. you need someplace to be with people your status."

"but darkley's is a bad school," he had retorted. "is that really who you want me to be?"

misako had rolled her eyes, annoying lloyd. "it's the only choice, i'm afraid," she had said, her eyes tired. she dismissed him.

now he was staring out of the carriage window glumly, watching the landscape get darker and darker. the trees wilted, the colors dulled. finally, when the carriage had slowed to a stop, he was permitted to exit. 

he landed on his feet, a mere five inches from a girl with white locks and a scar across her face. "hi," he said conversationally.

the princess dipped her head in acknowledgement, her eyes never leaving his.

a man walked up from beside her. "hello," he said warmly, holding out a hand. "i'm hutchins, the jade princess's tutor. i will be guiding you today."

the jade princess never said a word.

originally written dec 23 2022

should i make this a book ? i could actually do a lot with it,
but i'm not sure if i want to commit haha