The Master of Dragons

Chapter 3

                Daniella opened her eyes to see that she was no longer in the cave with her father and PIXAL, but in an ornate library. The walls were lined with shelves, full of books and scrolls. Daniella turned slowly in amazement.

"Wow," she whispered to herself.

"It really is something, isn't it?" a voice asked.

"Oh, I didn't know someone would be here," she said, turning towards the voice. She blinked and did another full sweep of the room. No one was in the room but her. Daniella's gaze slowly drifted towards her hand and she raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't say that did you?" she asked the staff. "Because that really wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's happened to me." The voice laughed.

"No, I am not the staff. I sometimes forget how to make myself visible," the voice spoke. Daniella turned to face the voice again. Slowly, a person began to form. The older woman stood before Daniella and smiled.

"Welcome to the Great Library my granddaughter," the older woman greeted with a small bow.

"Grandmother? It is an honor," Daniella gasped, bowing respectfully.

"Please, there is no need in such formality. Here, you may call me Lao Lao. I am here to help you learn the ways of the Purple Ninja. I see you have already figured out how to travel with Dragon Vein and how to change the shape of the staff," she observed.

"Not on my own. Father helped me," Daniella corrected with a sad smile.

"I see, do not worry. I will help you learn the ways of the Purple Ninja and send you back home to your family quickly."

"Oh, you don't have to rush anything. I know that this role is an important one, I don't want to rush and miss something crucial. Please, do not rush my training, just for me to go home faster. Trust me, I think I am better off here," Daniella begged.

"Alright. First, you must rest. Traveling through the Dragon Veins can be exhausting. Your training will begin tomorrow after breakfast. Come, I will show you to your room," Lao Lao calmly instructed, leading the way down the hallway. Daniella followed quietly, steadying her breath. Sleep was the last thing on her mind, but she was tired.

The two finally came to a stop at a door far from the first room. Lao Lao stood to one side and gestured towards the door. Daniella nodded and opened the door to her new bedroom. The room was massive, complete with its own bathroom suite. Daniella looked around calmly, taking in the ornate furniture. In the center of the back wall stood a queen size, four poster bed. To the left was a tall wardrobe and to the right was a large vanity. Daniella made note of the lack of modern electronics.

"We have a hard time with modern electronics in the Library. We rely more on our powers than technology," Lao Lao said from the hallway, almost as if she had read Daniella's mind. Daniella turned and saw that her grandmother had not entered the room, but quietly hovered outside.

"Lao Lao, why are you floating out there?"

"I am no longer allowed in this bedroom," she answered.

"But why?"

"This room is enchanted to keep your powers dampened better than any Vengestone would. However, the enchantment also keeps spirits like me out. Here, you won't have to listen to the demons' taunts and threats. You can sleep peacefully here; you are protected from everything that wants to harm you. Good night Daniella," Lao Lao answered before silently vanishing.

"Good night Lao Lao," Daniella whispered.

The blonde girl sighed as she placed the Staff on the vanity and took a look in the mirror. She could see the hurt that had etched its way onto her face. The dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. She had tried to cover it with makeup, but there were still traces that no amount of makeup could hide. She turned from the mirror and stared at the bed. Though the room was protected from the voices, Daniella knew that she would not sleep well. It wasn't the voices that kept her awake at night, but her own mind. She crossed the room and gently opened the wardrobe. Inside were several different outfits, along with a pair of nightclothes. Daniella picked up the nightclothes and rubbed her thumb across the fabric. It was the softest silk that Daniella had ever felt. Daniella looked down at her gi and wondered how she was supposed to change out of it. It had appeared when she fought the demon in Ninjago. Daniella turned to look at her staff, still laying obediently on the vanity.

Daniella smiled at a thought that crossed her mind. She laid the nightclothes on the corner of the bed and held out her hand. She closed her eyes and focused. She imagined the staff floating over to her hand from across the room. She smiled when she felt the familiar wrappings of the Staff in her hands. She opened her eyes and gazed at the staff in her hands, the smile never leaving her face. She twirled the staff a few times in her hand while trying to figure out how to change back to her clothes. She tried to remember exactly what she had thought before her clothes her transformed into the gi. Closing her eyes once more, Daniella thought of the outfit she had been wearing before fighting the demon. It was a simple outfit, leggings and a lavender T-shirt that matched her eyes. She opened one eye and gazed down at her outfit. Her clothes had not changed.

Daniella huffed in frustration and closed her eyes again, trying to focus. Her outfit had changed when the staff had changed from the hair pin to its current state. Daniella thought of how the pin had felt in her hand, straying from her original thoughts. The pin had been light, but strong enough to hold her unruly bangs out of her eyes. Something that was hard to do. It was why Cole had always put her hair in pigtails.

Cole.

Daniella frowned as her mind started thinking about him. About how much she loved him. How he didn't see it. How he said he loved Nya. Watching Jay and Cole at each other's throats all the time. The only person who seemed to separate them was Zane. Daniella felt the tears fall down her cheeks once more. Zane, who had sacrificed himself to defeat the Overlord, was the one who always kept the peace. He had the most level head of the group. Now he was gone, and the team was starting to fall apart. She wanted to be there for them, be the glue that Zane was, but she couldn't. Just being in the same room as Cole was enough to make her heart clench. She had told him how she felt in Ed and Edna's junkyard. Right before the fighting started. She had told him that she loved him, and he just ruffled her hair and said that he loved her too. He called her kiddo. He had never called her that before, that was the nickname he had given Lloyd. She was his little Lotus Blossom, his Cupcake, and occasionally he called her Princess, but never kiddo. Daniella wiped away the tears and tried to focus on the task at hand once more.

"Just focus on what's in front of you Dani. He isn't here, you are," she whispered to herself as she closed her eyes. She thought of the hair pin once more, suppressing the other memories that tried to surface. She felt the staff melt into the size of the hair pin. She opened her eyes and crossed the room to lay the hair pin on the vanity. She turned, grabbed her nightclothes, and quickly changed. Daniella left the clothes in the floor and climbed into the bed. She laid her head on the pillow and fell into a dreamless sleep.