Salt: A Ninjago story

42: Change One Thing

Wandering the fields back towards the city Lloyd felt strangely at peace, his journey to his past had shown him the trauma that hit his family was something no person could have stopped and he accepted it now, realising that although he may have lost one family, he had gained another; one that would laugh with him, talk with him, care for him and fight alongside him. New brothers, a sister, an uncle and his mother; because as disjointed as his relationship had been with her he had seen the pain that she endured as he was ripped from her arms to be separated from him for so many years and he felt closer to her in understanding her loss too.

Was there a further lesson in his parents' tragedy? Would power always ride roughshod over love? Well that's not anything I think I'll ever experience Lloyd thought, resignation tarring his words as the same weight he experienced earlier settled on his mind and the stab of yearning hunger gnawed at his insides for something once tasted. He clutched his chest as palpitations fluttered briefly in his heart, dispersing as he tried to grasp at a memory and again a name lingered on the tip of his tongue. He closed his eyes in frustration left with only a feeling of deep loss 'It'll come back' he told himself uncertainly.

Continuing to trudge across the field, the sun began to shimmer over the hills and he thought he saw a quicksilver glint of something small speed across the sky, but as he looked he couldn't see anything... just tiredness, he thought to himself and blinked, rolling his eyes to stretch them.

His thoughts turned back to the team and how he had skipped out on them what must they have thought? They must have been so pissed at me! Just disappearing like that. Zane especially. He doesn't take kindly to illogical actions. Lloyd grimaced I'm surprised he didn't send a drone and Lloyd stopped abruptly at the thought. He looked around again, the dart of light he thought he saw before, could be only one thing. Steadily Lloyd scanned his surroundings with a precision that Zane had taught him and sure enough, within the swaying leaves of an Oak tree, he saw what seemed to be a mechanical humming bird, hovering and looking in his direction 'Zane?' The device lowered and came towards him 'did you follow me?' Lloyd asked, knowing full well that Zane would be listening somewhere.

The device transmitted Zane's' urgent voice back 'you must return... The Quiet One is back' and Lloyds empty memories filled with new; as if mirroring his old, the terrifying threat to Ninjago flooded back to him through distorted glass.

'The Quiet One' he whispered through gritted teeth. He had known how he felt about her straight away. He was no stranger to darkness and had seen it in her immediately. He had felt that something was wrong in their very first meeting. When he and the team were presented to the Royal Family it had been the Princess who addressed them. As a princess you would expect her to be supremely confident but she had held some kind of sway over her Royal parents, a quiet control. He tried to explain his concerns to the team, tried to warn them but they could not agree, as if the Princess herself were Hypnobrai; they had been charmed. She worked hard, trying to woo him and turn him to her charms, but when she looked sweetly into his eyes he had found nothing but a false, saccharin sweetness. The Princess turned her wiles to another and he was immediately tasked with patrolling the grounds alone.

Nya became her personal bodyguard and Lloyd had worried in silence, patrolling the grounds alone. Nya was a true professional, he trusted her, she was focussed completely on her task of protection, but with the team dispersed to different roles, nobody saw the Quiet One drawing her close; protection became care, care became friendship. The Princess had found Nya's weakness; a simple friend was all Nya ever wanted and she became her pliant subject, manipulated and used. That Jay and Nya survived the twisted games of The Quiet One was testament to their relationship.

All of it could have been avoided if they had just believed him.

Could he have shouted louder, done more to convince them? He had failed. That singular failure haunted him still and if he could change one thing, it would be that. Then he would never have had to confront his father again, which was when he had been ultimately defeated. Did the team realise he had been living a half-life in thrall to his failure and past? But that was the past and he was himself once more. He had thought about history enough. He knew where he stood and who he stood by.

'Well you found me, somehow you found me...' he muttered, quietly impressed, though it never would have been a stretch for Zane. His inner machinations were a mystery to them all and Lloyd would never try to second-guess his friends' logic, even though he was certain Zane judged his friends logic all the time, which lead Lloyd to release a laugh unexpectedly. Only his friends could buoy him in a dire situation and he could not wait to see them again; and he could wait even less time to see the Quiet One again.