The Life of Livana Garmadon

August 29th, 2023

"Just drop me off here, Luna." I whispered to my dragon as she hovered over Victor's window at Borg's Boarding School. "Thanks for the flight here, girl." I patted her neck and then hopped onto the side of the building, my fingernails digging into the bricks.

Luna snorted, and then flew back to the monastery, earning a few gasps from the citizens below.

I smirked to myself and then scaled my way over to Victor's window, opening it from the outside and then sliding into his room, closing the window behind me. I sat down on his bed, ignoring a sprawled t-shirt on the floor. I'll have to scold him about the cleanness of his room later. I thought, eager for my friend to come into his room so I could surprise him after his studies.

I heard the front door click open, and I crept slowly to the bedroom door, peeking out between a crack. A figure with their back turned to me, wearing a tattered black cloak, was scanning through the room, their posture tense.

I tensed up myself. That's not Victor...

"Find anything useful?" Another voice said, but it sounded disembodied, and I couldn't see who it was. A shudder ran up my spine and I tried to suppress my shock. Who were these people? Who just asked the question? Why can't I see them? And what the hell were they doing here?

"No. You try searching in this already ransacked apartment." The figure kicked at the corner of a table before growling frustratingly, "This is useless. He's not home."

"Search for any clues, then." The disembodied voice snapped back. "We need all the clues we can gather about him and the darkness ninja. We can't exactly approach her while she's surrounded by the annoying Ninja and her brother, so we have to resort to... other sources."

Other sources?... And how is this about me? I wanted to ask a dozen questions, but these people meant harm to me... And to Victor. They probably came in here to kidnap him and take him away to who knows where. I cursed myself inside my head, Stupid. I should have bought weapons with me after all.

"I found this." The figure in the black cloak held up a frame, and it was a picture of Victor and me, sitting by the beach, smiling with our arms around each other. I smiled for a second at the sight of the picture, before I crept away from the door and then searched Victor's room for anything I could use on the attackers if I needed to get out.

I found a baseball bat even though Victor doesn't play baseball, and I shrugged one shoulder before I picked it up and then swung it silently over my shoulder, pushing back the thoughts that the mysterious people out there probably had something deadlier than a bat.

"Ah, so he is friends with the darkness ninja. Perfect. Our sources did not fail us." The disembodied voice hissed maliciously and suddenly, the front door clicked open. Crap. I ducked down, just as the figure turned their head to the door, setting the picture down silently.

"Could have gotten full points on that pop quiz if it wasn't for that stupid red wire-" Victor came through the door, setting down his bag by the door.

The figure stepped up to Victor and swiftly unsheathed a dagger, pressing it to his throat. "Scream, and I will slit you in half."

Victor stiffened, and his eyes widened down at the blade across his throat. The figure turned and then looked down at Victor's face, whispering something else into his ear. That's when I leapt into action, baseball bat and all.

"Hey you!" I shouted, ducking down and smacking the figure in the back of their knees, "Back away from my friend. Now."

The figure stumbled, releasing Victor accidentally in the process, and Victor ran over to me, grabbing a kitchen knife on his way to me. He pointed the kitchen knife at the intruder and then growled, fixing a strand of his mussed up hair.

"Who are you?" Victor asked.

The figure lifted his eyes, and I gasped when piercing emerald eyes bore into mine. They were like Lloyd's eyes, but darker, more shaded, more... villain. It wasn't my brother, I knew that for a fact... So who was this intruder? Why does he look so familiar...?

"Darkness ninja." The figure's eyebrow jumped a bit, "Wasn't expecting you here. But the more the merrier, isn't it?"

"Do I know you?" I asked, raising the baseball bat a centimeter higher. "You think that you can intimidate me like that? Who are you, and what the heck was that attempt to try and kidnap my friend?"

The figure sighed and then brushed back a strand of stray black hair. "It seems that you've forgotten our meeting in the mountains. Shame."

My heart stopped beating for a minute. "You?" I whispered, "That was... you? You were the one who took me down from the mountains?"

"I've said too much." The figure lowered their gaze, and then looked back up at me again. "Unfortunately, I must go now."

"Oh no you won't." I stepped forward, trying to grab the figure's sleeve, but then the figure vanished in front of my eyes, turning into thin air, leaving me close to faceplanting if Victor hadn't caught me and then propped me back up.

"What the f..." Victor trailed off when he noticed my haunted expression, "Livvy? What's the matter? Are you okay?"

"I..." I looked over at Victor and then straightened, putting both hands on his shoulders, both to look into his eyes and to steady my trembling legs. "Are you okay? You're the one who was held hostage for, like, 2 minutes."

"I'm totally fine." Victor lifted his hands up innocently, "But you look like you just saw a ghost, Livvy. What's wrong?"

"I-" I shook my head, "It's nothing. By the way, aren't you going to ask what I'm doing here?" I asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Oh yeah, that's a good question-" Victor looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, trying to appear menacing and failing miserably, "Why are you here, Livana Garmadon?"

"Eesh. You've never given me that look before." I teased, "The last time you looked at me like that, it was because I accidentally dropped your cupcake on the ground and had to get you a new one."

"That was a tragedy." Victor stepped to the right of me and opened the bedroom door. "So, what exactly are we going to do now?"

"We could just hang out like I planned on." I suggested, "Keep all of this behind us. But I do suggest that you stay at the monastery for tonight, just so you could be under our protection, given that you were just nearly kidnapped."

"Fair." Victor nodded his head, nudging aside a book with his foot.

"Just telling you though, there are three more children at the monastery. They used to be homeless and I took them in because... well, I could relate to them a lot, and I don't want them to turn out like I did." I shrugged one shoulder, even though my heart ached with my memories out on the streets.

"You're amazing." Victor side hugged me, squeezing me gently, "Never forget that."

"Thanks, Vic." I smiled, "Now go pack your stuff, okay? That is, if you can even find your stuff. Look how messy your room is!" I gestured to the floors, "Why is there random stuff everywhere?!"

"Oh no, not again." Victor groaned, but he had a smile on his face as he grabbed a suitcase and started packing, making me smirk as well.