Ninjago: Where Heroes Come From

Chapter Seven: Murder in the Ballroom

Nya had never before been confronted with so many cloths in her life. The wardrobe that stretched across the entirety of her bedroom wall was filled with dresses of varying shapes, sizes, and colours, as well matching shoes, hats, and scarves, not to mention the boxes of jewelry that were stacked up top. Still, she was about to attend her first (and only) royal ball, and it seemed fitting to dress appropriately.

Upon entering her room, Nya had seen the four-poster bed with hanging curtains, balcony that overlooked the sea, and a bathroom that was nearly as large as the room itself and made the executive decision to spend some time pampering herself before she made herself look presentable. Having never done anything of the sort before, she had spent a good half hour struggling to figure out how the shower worked, and then wondered if it would be considered rude if she rewired it to be less complex.

Nya had always been the most comfortable around grease and wires, and all the clean, white marble and delicate linens were making her feel trapped and claustrophobic. The castle was beautiful, but she didn't belong in it. Her place was under a vehicle or in a blacksmith shop, working with her hands to create something useful.

She was currently dripping water all over the carpet, wrapped in an unnecessarily fluffy towel, her hair twisted into a messy bun at the back of her head to keep it off her drying skin. She ran a hand along the row of dresses, trying to find the simplest and easiest to maneuver in, but she was having no luck. All of them were either too big, too revealing, to constricting... she marveled at how ladies in the court ever managed to dress themselves each morning if these were the cloths they had to choose from.

After several minutes of indecision, Nya finally settled on a dress that was long and plain, although the sleeves were also very long and draped down to her waist. She could fix that. Nya dug through the drawers and jewelry boxes until she found something sharp enough to slice through the fabric, then set to work tearing the sleeves off her dress.

By the time she was finished, and she had pulled the dress on and was admiring the effect in the mirror, there came a knock at her door. Without thinking of the dress she was wearing, she hurried over to answer it, gasping when she saw Jay standing there. His eyes widened and he looked down quickly when he saw what she was wearing.

Her cheeks flushing, and her neckline suddenly feeling far too low, Nya placed her hands over her chest and stiffened. "What do you want?"

She must have sounded biting, because Jay went slightly pale and gulped nervously. All too aware of the fact that she all but towered over him, Nya slouched just a little to compensate. Jay didn't notice; he was still averting his eyes.

"Uh-- hi-- um, I-- I wanted to ask you something." His cheeks were going red. Nya could feel the heat radiating off of him in waves. "The ball tonight-- will you-- will you go with me?"

The words tumbled out in a rush, and Nya froze, her eyes widening. She let her hands drop to her sides, staring at Jay in shock, almost expecting him to vanish right before her eyes, because there was no way he had just asked her to go to the ball with him, he was joking, surely, he loved joking...

"I understand if you don't want to go," he said quickly, finally looking up to meet her gaze, "I mean, I wouldn't go with me, you're not-- you don't seem-- I don't know what to say, you're pretty and smart and really cool, but like, I'm not any of those things, and I guess I have a crush on you and I want to dance with you but the thing is I can't really dance-- oh gods, am I saying this out loud? No, no, no--"

"Jay," Nya interrupted, holding up a hand to silence him, "I'd love to go with you to the ball."

Jay let out a noise that seemed half way between a squeak and a gasp, his flushed cheeks blooming with colour. "Thanks," he gasped, and staggered back down the hall, leaving Nya standing alone in her doorway, trying very hard not to squeal with delight.