Chapter Text
Escaping from the city of temples turned out to be an easier task than what Cinder initially thought; What he failed to realize is that finding his way back to anywhere he knew would prove to be much more difficult.
He's been wondering for a while, maybe a few days? maybe a week? what little supplies he managed to steal from the city had long ran out. He really thought the journey from crossroads to the tournament was shorter than this, maybe it went by faster because of Jordana and Ras... or maybe he just took a wrong turn.
Currently, He sat at the foot of the tallest mountain he's ever seen—as small as the amount of mountains he's seen was. the valley was eerily quiet, but for Cinder that just meant a good nights sleep.
He managed to light up a small fire, the flames protected him from the cold winds.
He played with the smoke coming from the fire, shifting it to all sorts of shapes. Messing around with his elemental powers like this was always weirdly therapeutic.
Unfortunately, the sudden screech that echoed through the mountain pass quickly made any feeling of comfort leave his body in an instance.
It wasn't human, that was for sure. The possibility of it being a bird crossed his mind as he saw...something fly past him.
birds aren't supposed to be that big and furry...right?
Another screech echoed around him, could it be the same one? or maybe it brought friends to share the meal with.
Either way, Cinder needed to get out of there, and fast. he snuffed out the fire and looked around.
is that.. A BAT?!
The giant, fur covered abomination was diving down towards him, sharp yellow teeth clear on display. Cinder just barely managed to poof out of the creature's way and onto safe ground.
Too close.
He looked back, the creature was diving in for round two and this time, he was ready to fight back.
Just before the creature dove low enough for him to attack, it was struck down by a golden spear. The giant bat crash landed inches away from the elemental master's feet. it wasn't long before the stench of the creature and its blood made their way to Cinder's nose.
gross
Shortly after, a tall and pale figure covered in golden armor with pair matching golden wings, gently flew down towards the beast.
The figure checked the creature's condition, seemingly making sure it's dead before turning around to face Cinder.
"Hello traveler" the figure gently spoke "I am Hailmar, the right hand of queen Vania of Shintaro"
Shintaro? he's heard stories about the mythical kingdom, but he never actually believed it was a real place.
"I do apologize you've had to deal with this beast, The dire bats are a plague. But, as per the queen's new order, I am obligated to ask... are you lost?"
Cinder hesitated "why do you care?"
Hailmar sighed "we are to offer help to those who are lost near our kingdom. Shintaro will provide you with shelter, fresh clothes, food and water until you are prepared to leave on your adventures once more"
"Really?" He questioned, rightfully suspicious.
Hailmar nodded.
The people of the magical kingdom of Shintaro are just offering to let anyone in?! Free food does sound intriguing but there's no way this is real right?? ...Only one way to find out.
Cinder cleared his throat "how could I possibly say no to such an offer?" He responded with a smirk.
Hailmar smiled.
As if on cue, a small golden airship (honestly it looks more like a carriage) lowered down gently next to him. "Were you just waiting for me to say yes to lower that thing?"
"Who can say?" Hailmar said with a smile as he climbed into the airship, followed closely by Cinder himself.
As the vessel started slowly lifting into the air Cinder looked over the edge, he didn't have a fear of heights but being this high... it made him uneasy.
It wasn't long before the airship made it past the clouds and Shintaro was revealed. He couldn't help but stare in awe at the gold and ivory towers that spread across the mountaintop, it was truly the sight of a lifetime.
Hailmar looked proudly at Cinder as he gawked "I welcome you—Traveler, to the Ivory City of Shintaro" he said shortly after the vehicle came to a stop at the nearby dock.
"Please, follow me" he continued "The queen likes to personally welcome all guests who make their way here" Hailmar explained before walking—or more correctly, Floating—Away, without giving Cinder a second glance.
Hesitant as he was, he did feel strangely safe. All the stories he's heard of Shintaro don't even compare to the real thing and if that were the case, deep down, he hoped the people of Shintaro were even kinder than they were in the tales.
After a short walk in the palace grounds, Hailmar and Cinder reached the throne room, a gigantic room covered in gold and ivory, in the middle of it, a gilded path leading to ivory stairs and on top of them, a golden throne.
On the throne sat the queen, a delicate looking young woman, she was pale like Hailmar with blonde hair that was put up in an elegant and tight bun.
"Is that a dragon..?" Cinder mumbled to himself as he noticed the white and gray lizard sleeping on the floor next to the throne. "Yes!" She heard him "that's Chompy, my pet dragon"
Cinder gave her a tight awkward smile.
The queen smiled back.
"Well! How about some introductions?" She stood up suddenly, he intricate white, blue and gold robes flapping around with the motion. She slowly climbed down the stairs that led to the throne, stopping just a few inches too close to Cinder.
He could feel his heart beating ever so slightly faster. He ignored it.
Ever heard of personal space?
"I, am Vania, current queen of Shintaro and the only person in the Shintaro royal family" she said, a bit too cheerfully considering the implications behind her words. "You?"
Cinder took a second to think, the queen was addressing him directly, could he be kicked out if he didn't comply with her request? "The name's Cinder—" he paused "—elemental master of smoke? I'm guessing that's important information to share"
Vania's eyes lit up when he mentioned his elemental power, she mumbled something under her breath before clearing her throat and continuing "and you're from..?"
"All over really"
"..."
"..." Cinder let out an awkward laugh "my realm of origin is Ninjago, if that's what you meant"
Vania smiled "so that means you know of the ninja, right?" She didn't wait for an answer "did you ever get the chance to work with them or something??"
If you count fighting against them on multiple occasions "—something like that"
Vania's eyes somehow managed to get even bigger and shinier when Cinder mentioned 'working' with the ninja. Luckily, she managed to stop herself before going a little too crazy.
"Hailmar!" She said, attempting to distract herself "could you please guide our honored guest to his temporary home?"
Hailmar nodded, bowed and motioned for Cinder to follow him, and once again, didn't wait to see if Cinder was actually behind him.
"I'm guessing I'll see you around?"
Vania nodded "of course"
-=+=-=+=-=+=-
Cinder stood in the doorway of a massively oversized room, this place was probably double what his team room during the tournament was, and he thought that room was pretty big.
"Is this... all mine?" He asked, he had to make sure, there's no way—
"Of course"
Oh. my. god.
So this is what being rich feels like.
"Well, I'll leave you be now" said Hailmar "if there is anything you need, please alert one of the palace guards"
Cinder nodded, still gawking at the room. Hailmar stood looking at him, seemingly waiting for something more than a nod. When it didn't come, he left without another word, leaving Cinder alone with the room.
Walking into it didn't make the experience feel any more real, he was sure that any second now he would wake up or something, but nothing happened.
It was just him and a ridiculously massive room.
The first thing to catch his eye was a pristine, white, wooden closet that was probably twice his height. They did mention I'll be provided with clothes.
Inside the closet was a single, silk white robe. His own—relatively expensive—gi looked... almost disgusting to wear compared to it. The thing haven't been washed since that big fight during tournament, it's covered in bits of dried blood (he doubted even the source dragons knew who it belonged to) and mud from his recent travels. Not to mention the fur that sat around his neck was smelling like someone died in it.
So he changed.
The silk robe hung loosely on his body but the fabric felt unnaturally comfortable on his skin. Wearing something different than his usual gi made him wonder, when was the last time he actually got himself brand new clothes? It had to have been before the merge.. right?
He hung his clothes out of one of the huge windows that were spread around the walls of the room evenly, to air out during the night.
Speaking of night.
After Cinder watched the sun set outside his window, the fatigue set in. He had been traveling aimlessly for days with barely any food or water, honestly, it was a miracle he made it as far as he did without being caught, or worse—dying. The fatigue grew even stronger as he looked over at the bed.
It looks so soft.
Cinder used his elemental power to disappear and reappear on top of the bed, It felt like laying on a cloud. He sunk into the mattress as the satin sheets wrapped around him.
He could really get used to this.
-=+=-=+=-=+=-
Cinder was awoken in many strange ways in his life—the most recent one being with a knife to his throat (a warning would've been nice, Ras)—but this simply had to take the cake.
After all, he was never aggressively licked until he woke up.
He jotted awake in seconds, preparing to blast whatever licked him into the next realm over. What he didn't expect to see was the big blue eyes of the queen's pet dragon.
And queen Vania herself.
She stood in the open doorway of his room, looking out of breath as she ran into the room and grabbed Chompy off of Cinder's bed.
Her long blonde hair was no longer in the same tight bun from before but rather cascaded down her shoulders all the way to her lower back. Her robes were also much simpler, the long gown-like silk was replaced with a pair of baggy, white workout gi. Was he really allowed to see the queen so out of her element?
"I'm so sorry about that!" she blurted out while ripping Chompy off the bed "he's never done that before"
Cinder shook his head "It's fine, I dont mind—"
"But since I'm already here" Vania sat down on the bed, her mood shifting from worried to... almost dead serious and strangely curious.? "who would you consider your favorite ninja?" she asked, staring at him with big puppy eyes.
Ah, she's a fangirl.
Still, saying Cinder was confused would be an understatement, did the she seriously make her dragon wake him up—in a very gross way—just so she could asked him some ninja related questions?
"I don't—"
"Mine's Cole! he saved Shintaro previously—so that's a big factor, but he was also my favorite wayyyyyyy before that"
"That's great—"
"Nya's probably a close second... Ooo! or Kai!"
She didn't let him get a single word out. What's the point of even asking the question then?!
It got to a point where Cinder completely filtered out her rambling, he was just staring into space, waiting for her to stop.
He did manage to notice a few interesting details about her. The way her hair flowed in the air with each small movement she made, how her hands never stopped moving about while she talked, how her expression seemed more excited and genuine every time she mentioned the earth ninja.
She kinda remined him of Frak—in a way—Frak always somehow managed to drag Cinder into talks about the ninja, they both grew up in Ninjago City after all and had their fair share of ninja stories to share, so it became a regular occurrence for Cinder to listen to Frak's crazed fanboy rambling.
He's probably much happier being on the ninja team now.
Wait... when did she stop talking?
The queen was staring at Cinder with her big curios eyes once again "everything... okay..?" she asked nervously, this time, it seemed she was actually waiting for him to answer.
"It's just, very early" he managed with an awkward smile.
Vania's faced instantly flushed "Right!" she exclaimed and laughed nervously "then... maybe we can talk more later? I still have plenty I wanna ask you!"
Before Cinder could stop himself, he nodded "sure"
The queen smiled "great! I'll see you later then" and with that, she left the room and closed the door gently behind her, the little bounce in her step made Cinder almost excited to see her again.
Then he actually processed what he just agreed to.
She wants to ask him things... about the ninja?! The people he's been actively trying to kill up until recently?!
This is bad, like really bad.
Isn't lying to royalty like, illegal?! Is he gonna get beheaded?!
He could tell the truth.
But then he'll totally he beheaded for being an enemy of the ninja
Oh god oh god oh god oh god
Maybe he could just avoid the queen? But what if he'll get beheaded for disobeying a direct order from her?
Are beheadings even a thing in Shintaro??
He really hoped he wasn't going to find out. The only way he could somehow keep his secrets is lying about what actually happened in the tournament, or before it.
Maybe just avoid details all together, Be as vague as possible.
That'll work, he lied to himself, that'll totally work.
-=+=-=+=-=+=-
Shintaro's agriculture was stunning, especially the palace gardens.
Intricate green vines climbing up ivory walls and golden statues, with subtle hints of various shades of blue blooming out of the flowers.
Every breath Cinder took in there felt so refreshing, like the air have finally been cleaned of mountains of filth he didn't even know were there.
His personal favorite place was a small wooden bridge that spread across an obviously man made river.
That's where he waited for the queen, all to continue their dreadful conversation from the morning. It's safe to assume Cinder wasn't too happy with the arrangement, but he couldn't risk getting beheaded—even if it might not be a thing in Shintaro—better to be safe than sorry... right?
Why'd he even care? His shattered goodness prevented him from feeling certain emotions. It took away all feelings that are considered "weak" in order to make the user stronger. So why on earth did he actually believe he'd feel bad if he missed this insignificant little meeting with the queen?! And why was he actually a little excited to see her again?
"Cinder?" That familiar voice brought him out of his trance and back to reality faster than it should've. "Vania! I mean! Queen—queen Vania"
She laughed, she was laughing at him
she looks so pretty when she's laughing
...
What.
"It's ok! Just call me Vania! I don't care too much for titles" she explained with a smile
Cinder's heart started beating ever so slightly faster
Oh god that smile.
"Everything alright?"
He nodded without thinking—was everything alright? "Never been better, I mean with all the free stuff I've been getting, how could I not be happy?" He said, or more correctly—lied.
His goodness was shattered. Gone. Happy wasn't an emotion he was feeling anymore, just anger, sadness and a weird sense of existential dread. Sure there were times where he joked around and laughed with Jordana or Frak, but that wasn't Joy, at least not genuine Joy.
Why did he even agree to put on that stupid wolf mask in the first place?
"So...does that mean I can start with my questions?" Vania asked, leaning against the stone railing of the bridge and staring at Cinder with her big eyes once more.
Those damn eyes.
He sighed "if you have too" he said before following suit and leaning against the railing of the bridge as well. "What do you wanna know?"
Her eyes lit up with excitement as she pushed herself off the edge of the bridge and stood in front of Cinder.
Be vague. Be vague. Be vague. Be vague.
"When did you last see the ninja?"
"Tournament"
"What kind of tournament?"
"Elemental one, with a bunch of other elemental masters"
"Who won?"
"Some kid that was on their team, she's a newer addition to the ninja"
Vania gasped "they're still expanding the team?"
"Apparently"
She thought for a second "were there any complications during the tournament?"
What kind of question is that?! "Yes." Straight and to the point while still being vague. Nice.
"What happened"
Fuck.
"Umm—" Cinder hesitated, he could tell her about how the wolf clan attacked the other participants and hijacked the whole event, and just skip the part where he helped them and was put in prison at the city of temples. "Well... there was this evil group that participated in the tournament too, they made a deal with one of the organizers and managed to get one of their members to the finale"
"Uh-huh"
"But he lost, then some other guys that worked for them attacked the other participants and—"
"Did you help fight them off?"
He definitely fought someone off "—of course!" He laughed, very, very awkwardly "I couldn't just stand by and let it happen"
What with all the details?? Be vague dammit! Vague!!!
"What kind of evil were they?"
"..what?"
"Like were they 'sad backstory' evil, or 'evil for the sake of being evil' evil."
That's when Cinder had to stop and actually think about his answers for more than 2 seconds. Was Ras just evil for the sake of being evil? He was always taking about some bigger plan he had but he never actually shared any details. They were all just... following him blindly.
Was he himself just evil for the sake of being evil? He hoped he wasn't, but he definitely was.
"Evil for the sake of being evil" he said bluntly "I'm sure of it". he did shatter his goodness, could his actions after that really be blamed on a 'sad backstory'? He doubted it.
Vania groaned "ugh! Those kind of bad guys are the worst!! Like, If you're gonna be evil at least have a good reason to it right?!" Cinder nodded hesitantly "yeah..." he managed to choke out "they're just—the worst.."
He took in a deep breath, his eyes finally met hers as he exhaled "any more questions?"
Vania stayed still for a few seconds, her eyes rapidly moving and very obviously scanning his slightly distraught features. "No" she said softly "I think that's enough for today"
She tried to put on her bright smile from before, but something about it seemed a little sad and almost sympathetic.
He doesn't deserve her pity.
"You got any plans for today?"
Cider shook his head "probably going to go back to my room and sleep until the world ends" he joked in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood.
She laughed, slightly more genuine than her smile "sounds fun!" Cinder nodded slowly as he pushed himself off the bridge railings, not looking back at Vania as he walked off.
"I'll see you around?" She shouted
He nodded and turned around to face her one last time for the day "of course!"