The Imperial Battle II: The Emperor of Ninjago

Chapter 4. Separated

Welcome to read the longest chapter I think I've ever written! I tried to divide this into two chapters, but didn't know where to cut it, so I left it like this. Enjoy!

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Lloyd, unlike how he was used to, woke up to the sound of people hustling around, packing stuff, shouting at each other and stumbling on one another. He tiredly opened his eyes to notice he was the only one still not up and about. Well, together with Kai, who was snoring beside him.

Lloyd gently elbowed his boyfriend, who groaned and yawned, refusing to open his eyes.

"It's not morning yet," Kai whined.

"It is. We need to get up before someone stomps on us by accident," Lloyd mumbled and sat up.

"But it's not morning!"

Lloyd sighed. "The sun is up, everybody else is awake, so it is morning."

"I can't see any light or people, so it's not morning..." the brunet muttered, half asleep.

"Do I need to find ice cold water again?" Lloyd questioned.

A deep sigh came out of Kai. "No... I'm up..."

The two dragged themselves up and rubbed the sleepiness out of their eyes. They were just about to get dressed in their burnt, dirty but also only clothing when Hutchins stopped them.

"You won't be needing those anymore, Your Royal Highness," he said to Lloyd and handed him a neatly folded gi.

The gi felt divinely soft and so clean in the Prince's hands that he felt like crying. The gi was a darker shade of green with a beautiful golden dragon pattern spiraling around it and darker details decorating it. It was all in all a gi straight out of Lloyd's dreams.

Lloyd smiled. "Thank you, Hutchins. Where did you get these?"

"They were sort of a donation from a clothing shop we passed by. The owner claimed to have even met you once and insisted on gifting you some proper gi's," Hutchins explained before turning to Kai. "Mr. Smith has a new gi too. It is the red one over there." He gestured to the far corner of the tent where a red gi was folded on a small stool, then facing Lloyd again. "Is there anything else you need, Your Royal Highness?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No. Thank you, Hutchins."

Hutchins bowed to the Prince and walked away as if Kai was thin air.

Lloyd was honestly a bit amused by the way Hutchins was stubbornly holding onto the role of a servant. Unlike Nya, who had not only treated Lloyd as a friend still at the palace but had now dropped formalities with him altogether, Hutchins didn't seem eager to ever stop serving the royalty. The royalty exclusively. Everyone else was free to go starving and unprotected for all he seemed to care.

"I shall go fetch my own gi, Your Royal Highness," Kai said in an overly formal tone before making a bow far too deep in front of Lloyd.

Lloyd chuckled lightly and watched as Kai went, feeling a tiny bit lighter than in a long time.

🐉-🔥-🐉

The team was once more gathered in the tent with Wu explaining the plan to the ones yet not aware of it.

"So, we will divide into two groups, the first going to the Primeval's Eye to retrieve the Mask of Hatred and the second heading to the Wailing Alps for the Mask of Deception. The Primeval's Eye is packed with poisonous insects and plants as well as dangerous beasts, so the ones going there must be careful at every step. Going to the Wailing Alps, on the other hand, means an arduous climb up the snowy, icy mountain with the temperature falling far below anything you've ever felt-"