The Imperial Battle II: The Emperor of Ninjago

Chapter 18. The Duke of the Jade Falls

Warning: Emotional stuff, again. Please prepare yourself with a box of tissues and comfort snacks :)

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Lloyd couldn't even begin to describe how uncomfortable he felt.

The team had just traveled a long way from the Primeval's Eye to the North where Wu had said lived someone who could give them temporary shelter for training and recovery. It was apparently in the middle of a prairie that the almost destroyed Bounty had ended up unable to reach. That was the reason they were currently walking among the tall, dry grass and the endless amount of blood-thirsty bugs. Mainly to keep everyone going despite the heat, Cole kept reminding them that they would've had to leave the Bounty far away anyway as it was a big giveaway when it came to hiding from Clouse's troops.

Despite having first protested going back into hiding, Lloyd was now glad to have somewhere safe to go. He was currently being carried by Kai as he could not take a single step by himself. His leg was aching, he felt exhausted, his head was pounding, he felt nauseous, he felt hot under the glare of the cursed sun and most of all felt hopeless. All optimism had been sucked out of him and replaced with the certainty of impending doom. And that was all what his current state consisted of, even with the heavy dose of painkillers he had been allowed to take. And those had been their last painkillers, so it was going to be a heavy downward spiral from there.

"How're you doing up there, Sweet Thing?" Kai asked, adjusting the prince on his back.

Lloyd sighed and rested his head on Kai's shoulder, glancing down at his injured leg that was hidden under a thick layer of bandages. He couldn't even move, let alone bend it. "I feel sick."

"We're probably there soon. Hang in there."

The way Kai was smiling should've given Lloyd the familiar type of comfort that felt like a warm flame casting away the cold storm inside of him. Yet it didn't. It felt like nothing. It did nothing. Kai's presence felt distant, which was the very opposite of what Lloyd had imagined their reunion to be like. He'd expected to be happy, but instead he was as unhappy as he could be.

And he didn't seem like the only one comfort could simply not reach anymore. Wu had been very serious ever since they'd returned to the Bounty, and Hutchins could not utter a single word and looked as though every breath was agony. But at least they could walk.

"Wonder where we're going," Lloyd muttered, turning away from the sight of his uncle and servant.

"All I know is that it's a house owned by somebody Wu knows," Kai replied.

"I hope there are some proper clothes there."

"Yeah, those don't look that comfy," Kai sympathized, glancing at the spare clothes Lloyd was wearing. His gi was torn, covered in dust and blood and beyond recognition, so the prince had to wear whatever the group had found from the Bounty, which included ugly shorts and an even uglier sweater. The only nice part about his attire was the fact that it protected his arms from being sucked dry of any blood. Though, Lloyd was pretty sure the bugs weren't swarming around him mainly because there wasn't much blood left in him.

"This place looks awfully familiar," Lloyd commented, gazing at the trees in the distance. His vision was very blurry, but he was able to make out some major details.

"Maybe you've been here before," Kai suggested. "Don't royals make all kinds of tours?"

"Yeah, but I was rarely with Mother and Father when they toured Ninjago," Lloyd sighed, trying to keep his answers short due to the heavy pounding in his head. "I don't know my own country besides having memorized maps and seen pictures."