Mad World | Ninjago Fanfic |

III

Lloyd's breath caught in his throat as a hand caught his wrist. He looked up and saw the Princess. He grabbed her wrist as she started to pull him back up. Lloyd used the ledge to hoist himself back up onto the roof.

"Thank you, Princess." He said and sat down, catching his breath.

"I should be thanking you, if it weren't you...well, I don't want to think about why that thug was after me." She shivered and got quieter towards the end. Lloyd stood up.

"My guess, is he was sent to scare your family or maybe use you to bargain for the mask." Lloyd replied even though none of that was true. The Sons of Garmadon shouldn't have gone after her at all. The fact that they did really pissed him off. He had gotten an ok look at the one who attacked the Princess, so he was sure he'd recognize whoever it was. His main concern was if this person was following orders or if they did this on their own. That would surely decide who Lloyd would yell at later or kill, depending on how he was feeling.

"You really think so?" The Princess asked, fear written in her face. Lloyd nodded.

"I think they'll do anything to get the mask." Lloyd admitted and that wasn't a lie. He really didn't care what he would have to do to get that goddamn mask. If ended up kidnapping the Princess, then so be it. "So what are you doing outside of the Palace?" He asked. The Princess grabbed the bag she had been carrying and opened it, revealing that it was full of food.

"I'm helping the poor." She gave him a sad smile. "I can't do much trapped behind the Palace walls, so being able to bring them the leftover food makes me feel like I'm doing something." She explains her reasoning for doing this. Lloyd nodded.

"That's really nice that you sneak out to help those in need." He commented and that brought a smile to her face. "It's dangerous for you to do so." He added and her face fell. "But you've got a bodyguard for the night so I don't seem the harm in helping you." Her smile returned.

"The Princess is gone!" A voice shouted from the Palace. Lloyd and the Princess both looked over towards that direction. They could see Hutchins standing on her balcony, shouting at the guards.

"They can't know I snuck out." She passed him a sweatshirt she had pulled from a clothes line. "Will you disguise yourself? Please?" Lloyd nodded and put the sweatshirt on without any hesitation.

"At least we have the excuse that you were attacked by the Sons of Garmadon." Lloyd reminded her. She smiled at him and they made their way down from the roof. They continued through different alleyways until they reached what was considered the poorer part of the city. "How often do you come out here?" Lloyd asked.

"As often as I can." She replied. Lloyd looked around at all the people. There were so many, more than he imagined there would be. "A majority of those here are here because of the past attacks on the city. From the Overlord to the Great Devourer." The Princess explained. Lloyd thought back to those battles. The city was devastated after the Great Devourer but the Overlord didn't destroy much that day. Well not enough that he had thought about it. The Great Devourer however had taken down multiple buildings. The Princess passed out some food as they walked. Eventually they came to a stop and she set the bag down. A few children came running over and she gladly handed them as much food as they wanted.

"Here, let me help." Lloyd offered and grabbed some food to hand out. The children swarmed the Princess, they all called her by her first name. They must get excited every time she visited with food. Though none of them seemed to acknowledge she was the Princess, or maybe they just didn't care.

"Don't worry there's more than enough for everyone, as always." The Princess smiled at the children. Once the bag was empty, she rolled it up and they continued to walk. Lloyd had rather not be out here with the Princess right now, but he would put up with her, better to keep her happy, so he can stay in the Palace. He had planned to set up some blast zap tonight, not keep an eye on her. He'd still have time to do it later so it shouldn't be much of a problem.