𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕛𝕚𝕥𝕫𝕦 ~ L. Garmadon

5: Lloyd vs. Camille: Roller Derby Edition

Lyra woke up to the sound of footsteps. She sighed, remembering she wasn't in her own, comfy bed. Instead, she was in a room with every Elemental Master in the tournament, sleeping in tiny, lumpy beds that smelled vaguely like old socks. All because Jay and Cole wouldn't fight each other. 

Not that she blamed them, plus the entire reason they were fighting each other in the first place was her fault, but...she would've preferred to be in her own room. It was less dark, less filled with people she didn't know. 

Plus, it was past midnight, and she'd only been asleep for, like, five minutes. And Lyra found it pretty easy to sleep most nights, so that was saying something. Of course, the fact that she'd just found out her only parent was evil could've affected that as well.

She still wasn't sure how she felt about that. One on hand, it made her sick to the stomach to think about, so she just wanted to ignore it. On the other hand, she was fairly certain bottling up her feelings forever would only lead to disaster.

She sat up, stretching and watching as the ninja gathered beside Lloyd's bed. She got out of her own bed and crept up behind them.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Lloyd asked her, his voice as soft as the breeze on a summer day.

Lyra shook her head, playing with the aglets of her deep purple hoodie. "I think I ruined my sleep schedule by inhaling Tox's fumes." Her voice was small, an echo of her usual quiet tone. Normally, no one would be able to hear that, but the silent room amplified any sound that was made.

"We were just about to--" 

Clang, clang! 

Lyra jumped as a servant played the gong twice then turned the lights on. She rushed back into her bed, then slowly sat up and yawned, pretending to have just woken up.

"Good morning, fighters," Clouse greeted. He pretended to think about what he'd just said. "Oh, that's right, it's the middle of the night."

Suddenly, each servant attached something to the fighters' feet.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Lloyd protested.

"Thank you, Alaia," Lyra murmured, only loud enough for the servant who put her roller skates on to hear. They weren't her usual, top-of-the-line ones, as wearing those would look too suspicious when everyone else had regular skates, but they'd work.

"Roller skates?" Kai asked, getting out of bed and then immediately falling face-first in front of Skylor. "Heh, guess you could say I...fell for you."

Lyra choked on the air around her at Skylor's flushed expression.

"Let me guess, another one of Chen's impromptu battles?" Lloyd asked, skating beside Lyra.

"Oh, roller skates. I love roller skates!" Jay cheered, doing an axle.

Lyra had to agree. Her father made her and Skylor learn how to skate when Lyra was two, and they both enjoyed the activity immensely. This particular challenge had actually been their idea.

"Did I ever mention I won first place in the Mother-Son Skate-Off?" Jay bragged, sliding on a table. "I should've never admitted that."

"Bet I could beat both you and your mother." Lyra grinned. 

Mr. Pale, Master of Light, looked at them strangely. "Weirdos."

"Says the one who's currently transparent," Lyra pointed out. "You took 'clear skin' a bit too literally, bud."

Lloyd poorly hid his snickers behind his hand. The corners of eyes crinkled, and Lyra found herself staring again. He seemed too majestic--too similar to the fantasy-romance novels she'd read--to be real.