Flames of the Past #4: A Tangle of Lies (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

The clock struck eight, and Cole, Kai, Zane, Nya, and Jay entered the dining room. The place was crowded with people, and the ninja noticed that none of them were royals.

"Guess we got kicked out of the royal table," Cole sniffed.

Kai tried to ignore the disappointment settling inside of him, but he had been hoping to dine with Skylor again.

With a squeal of laughter, Laurie burst through the team and sped into the crowd.

"What the—Where did she come from?" Jay puffed as they watched the girl wander into the kitchen alone.

"Does Lloyd even watch this kid?" Cole exclaimed, looking around for the green ninja.

But no one had been with Laurie, and, with a frustrated sigh, Kai ran after her. He walked through the swinging doors and into the steaming kitchen. Shouting filled his ears as he made his way inside. He eventually found Laurie darting over to two men dressed as chefs, one of whom he recognized to be Marcello from Shillvaron. The other was a new face, with blue eyes and blond hair, and seemingly younger than Marcello. The two were obviously in the middle of an argument.

"Candy!" Laurie squeaked, racing toward Marcello.

Kai gritted his teeth as he followed her. "Laurie," he scolded, ready to take her back.

But the chef turned to her and a smile spread across his stressed face. "Well, if it isn't-a my favorite-a bambina!" he grinned. He scooped the girl into his arms and Kai held back.

The blond chef scowled. "Now you're letting children in the kitchen?" he sneered. "That's just inviting trouble into your cooking!"

"Like-a you know anything-a about cooking!" Marcello spat back, raising the rolling pin in his hand. "You're-a what? American?"

The other chef scoffed and crossed his arms. "Oh, like you're really Italian," he jeered.

Marcello's jaw fell open. "I'm-a insulted!" he blurted. "What's-a your name, anyway? Chad? Jack?"

"Jackson, thank you very much," the other shot back. "And this is my kitchen!"

"Well-a we can't have two-a chefs in the kitchen!" Marcello shouted.

Kai slowly began to back away. "Um... if Laurie's not a problem I'll just go... okay," he whispered to himself. Neither chef was paying attention to him. Laurie was giggling at their argument and Marcello's arm around her seemed protective, so Kai decided to turn around and leave.

There were several round tables positioned closely around the room. Kai found the one his team was gathering around and took a seat beside Cole. "So, what's for dinner?" he asked.

"Chicken," Cole answered.

The plates of food came around and Kai served himself, although he wasn't too hungry. He glanced around the table. "Where's Lloyd?" he realized.

Cole shrugged. "I don't know. But he didn't get here at eight, so I guess he's not eating."

Kai frowned. He couldn't let Lloyd skip a meal: it wasn't healthy. I'll sneak some food to him later, he decided before turning to his dinner.

But the crowded area around him seemed empty. Anxiety mixed inside of Kai. He wished Lloyd was at the table with them. Breath quickening, he found himself inching his chair closer to Cole. He felt a little better once his arm touched the black ninja's, but Cole gave him a weird look and moved farther from him again.

Kai swallowed. He knew Cole wasn't trying to hurt him, he only liked his space.

Kai didn't like his space. The mass of people around him wasn't enough, for he didn't know them. He wished—he wished—