Escapade | Ninjago AU

Chapter 8

*The next night*

Nya's POV

Even from miles away, the giant wall of fire is visible. It shoots up hundreds of feet in the air, the orange and red flickering. However, it doesn't seem to be spreading. It stays in the same place. It's out of character for something that typically tries to consume everything it touches. That's how I know it's not just fire, but rather a wall. It's surrounding the fire kingdom.

It emits a light that I didn't even know was possible. It's as if the sun had a baby. However, one section is significantly dimmer than the others. As I get closer, I notice that that section of the wall isn't fire. Instead, it's stone that towers just as high. The wall conceals the entire kingdom, only a single spire peaks out of the top, probably to keep watch.

It baffles me that this, a giant wall of fire, has stayed out of the public's notice for centuries. I understand that Ninjago is huge, and this is in the middle of nowhere, but you'd assume that someone would hear about it and report it. The situation makes me feel as if spiders are crawling up my spine. However, I hold my head up high and approach with caution.

Surprisingly enough, I don't get any warmer as I near the wall. Fire emits heat, everyone knows that. Apparently, this wall doesn't. From 10 miles away to 10 feet away from this blazing fury, it feels the exact same. The chill of the night still creeps throughout my body.

As I approach the guards, I have my cloak black cloak tucked over my head and keep my body slightly hunched. I'm hoping to look old and decrepit in order to elicit sympathy from them. They're a lot more likely to let a weak, old woman in to see their leader than a member of the army that notoriously hates him.

"Show your proof of citizenship," a raspy voice speaks out from within a case of steel armor. His face is hidden, the getup looking like a knight from centuries ago. I guess my brother is a bit old fashioned.

"Oh silly me. I must've left it in my house," I alter my voice, so it's significantly more nasally.

"Show us your true form, trespasser. No old woman left the town today, or any time recently for that manner," a different guard raises his sword at me, pointing the sharpness at my chest. Etched into the blade are flames, cascading down to my parent's blacksmithing insignia on the hilt. My brother surely made that sword.

I sigh, standing up straight. "I came to see the fire king. I need his help," I decide to be honest. The guards respond to my honesty with a hyena cackle.

"No one comes 'to see the fire king'. He doesn't give his help to anyone either, let alone leave the kingdom. Now, be gone and don't come back," one of the guards mocks my request. The anger boils in my chest as I clench my fists.

"I'm his little sister. Let me in," I grit, narrowing my eyes. This causes an uproar of laughter amongst them.

"And I'm the master of energy. Get lost. You're clearly delusional," he shoos me off with his hand. "We aren't letting you in, and you surely aren't getting through any other way."

His words spark an idea in my head. Water beats fire in every scenario. If I were to give the fire wall a taste of its own medicine...

I take off in a sprint towards the edge of the wall. My black cloak falls behind me from the pure force of my movement, but I don't care enough to go back for it. My feet carry me up to the wall where I create a ball of water to cover my skin. Even if I can't feel the heat from outside of the wall, I'm sure the fire itself is enough to melt me into a puddle.

My guess is right. The second I touch the fire is the second I'm enveloped in an unbearable heat. The sweat oozes out of my body at a degree I didn't think was possible. My shield keeps me from getting burnt. I use the sweat to replenish it, and once I feel like I'm about to collapse from heatstroke, I finally emerge from the other side.