Ann breathed in deeply. There was so much going on at once. The boys’ training, the Skulkin army, trying to find Kai and Nya’s parents, tracking Wu’s nephew, not to mention her own training. What she needed was a vacation, but life wasn’t fair like that. She knew this better than anyone.
Walking through the empty courtyards, soaking up the last rays of sun and breathing in the smell of decaying leaves always seemed put her at ease at times like this. It reminded her a little of when she was younger.
‘It seems like it’ll be a cold winter this year,’ she thought. ‘That’ll be good for the boys. They need more winter survival training. But on the other hand, not so good for the troops... hopefully all the snow will be contained to the mountains.’
“Oh, hey, Ann,” Cole said sheepishly as he approached her. Ann looked up and saw him tightening his jacket just before a cold blast of wind hit them. “Sure is, uh, chilly tonight, huh?”
“It is,” she replied. She wondered why on earth he’d be out here talking about the weather when he should have gone to bed already. “I would suggest warm clothes for tonight’s lesson.”
“Are… you and Keaton gonna be joining us?” Cole asked, shuffling a bit.
Ann walked closer to the door leading inside and said, “No. We have other matters to attend to this evening and a day of training tomorrow.” Now go to sleep, she added in her head.
“Oh... okay,” said Cole.
He seemed so nervous, but why? Was she intimidating him? No, that couldn’t be it. If he was intimidated then he wouldn’t be talking to her... right? Unless of course he was willing to confront her because... he needed something? He had asked about the navigation training, so maybe he wanted her there to help him during the test? Was that it? He wanted to coast off of her knowledge?
“If you’re nervous about the lesson, then I would suggest getting a good night’s sleep so you’ll be able to focus. I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight,” Ann said curtly. She turned and walked inside, pretending not to notice when he called after her, wishing her a good night’s sleep as well. What was up with him?
Either way, it didn’t matter. She needed to focus on other things. Wu had said that he needed to speak with her and Keaton after dinner, but she got a little caught up with something else. She had told Keaton to wait in the dining room, but now she couldn’t find her. Maybe she’d gone back to their room? It wouldn’t be the first time. Keaton had been acting a little differently lately too, perhaps because there were so many new faces around; especially Nya. Another girl at the monastery… but there was no reason to worry about her. Keaton was a responsible girl, and Nya wasn’t a bad influence or anything, and maybe having her around would be good for moral.
Ann climbed the stairs that led to the west wing, but when she reached her room, she could tell that something wasn’t right. There was laughing and music coming from inside, and she knew that Keaton didn’t own a radio or music player. She opened the sliding door at once and inside she found Nya and Keaton sitting on the floor painting each other’s nails. There were bottles of nail polish on the floor, a small MP3 player connected to a speaker, and a pack of other girly products like makeup and nail files and face masks.
“Ann!” Keaton cried in a panic, jumped to her feet. “I thought you were downstairs.”
“I was,” Ann corrected. She looked from her sister to Nya and back again. Did she just invite herself in? To her room? She knew that Keaton didn’t have time for such stupid, girly junk. “What is going on here?”
When Keaton seemed too scared to speak, Nya got up and answered, “I was just showing Keaton how to paint her nails.”
‘Oh, so that’s how it is, intruder?’ Ann thought. “Keaton doesn’t need to know how to paint her nails,” she said sternly. “Pack up your things and get out of our room.”
“You can’t be serious,” Nya exclaimed. “We’re just having a little fun! Look, we even put down some towels to keep the floor clean.”
A small part of Ann’s heart twisted up and she felt a strange ping of... a nasty feeling she couldn’t identify. “You’re distracting her from what she really needs to focus on,” Ann pressed, trying to ignore her feelings. “Now leave.”
Nya frowned and then turned to Keaton to say she was sorry. She packed up all the nail polish and the MP3 player and left without another word, meanwhile Keaton was still standing in the exact same spot staring at the floor with her hands behind her back, waiting for Ann’s inevitable speech.
“What was that all about?” Ann asked, closing the door.
Keaton didn’t say anything, she just kept staring at the floor.
“Why were you wasting time with polish and annoying pop music?” Ann moved closer until they were only a few inches apart. She just didn’t understand why Keaton would do something like this. Sure, she’d been fairly wild up till now, but she knew better than this. At least that’s what Ann thought.
“I wasn’t wasting time, I was having fun,” Keaton squeaked.
“Keaton, you don’t have time for this! You knew that we were supposed to go meet Sensei Wu, and I asked you to stay put, but what did you do? You went and played dress up with Nya! You don’t need all that junk. It’s just a distraction.” The more Ann went on, the quieter Keaton became, slowly shrinking until she couldn’t have looked any smaller. Finally Ann stopped and took a deep breath. “Just... wipe off your toenails and get to bed. I’ll meet with Wu alone.” She left the room without turning to look at their sister, and then felt a vile feeling rise up in her stomach and into her throat. Maybe she shouldn’t have said all those things... but Keaton was unruly, and that behaviour needed to stop.
She tried not to think about it too much as she made her way to Wu’s office. When she arrived, she had to explain why Keaton was absent before Wu could start, but instead of stating exactly what happened, Ann said,
“I found Keaton asleep already. I guess she was very tired after today’s long training session.”
Wu stroked his beard. “I suppose we’ve all been training rather hard lately.”
“Well, it’s for a good reason,” said Ann, feeling a need to defend all of her hard work.
“Yes,” Wu agreed. “And speaking of which, I have some grave news.” Ann moved forward in her seat a little as her Sensei continued. “My nephew has indeed been stirring up the remaining Skulkin forces. There have been reports of prison breaks and disappearances in the south, and conveniently, he is nowhere to be found. If events continue to unfold as I fear, the war may not really be over for a long time.”
“What can we do?” Ann asked.
“For now, prepare. Wait. Pray that things will turn in our favour.” Wu sounded very distressed about all of this, and why shouldn’t he? This was his own family they were talking about. Ann knew exactly how he felt.
“We’ll find him,” she reassured and Wu gave a soft smile in return. “Any news on Kai’s parents?”
Wu’s frown deepened. “No. And that only adds to my worry.”
“You don’t think...” Ann started, fearing the worst.
“It’s possible,” Wu admitted. “But I have been thinking about something else... how was it that Garmadon knew the locations of the Golden Weapons?” Ann had to admit, she’d been wondering the same thing. “The only map existed in Kai’s mind, but also...”
“His father’s mind,” Ann finished. “You’re saying that Garmadon knew who Mr. Rayson was… and got the map from him the same way you got it from Kai?”
“I’m almost certain of it,” said Wu. “Which would mean that they were high priority prisoners, kept in the most secure place in Garmadon’s territory: the Undead Citadel.”
“That has to be where they are. No one’s been able to take it, even with the Skulkins disorganised,” Ann thought out loud.
“In truth, I don’t really blame them. After those Skulkins were stranded here thanks to our little visit to the Underworld, they have nowhere else to go.” Wu stroked his beard and looked out a window at the fading twilight.
“So what do we do about the Citadel?” Ann asked quietly.
“Win the war,” Wu replied. He stood up and Ann did the same. “In the meantime, we should be preparing for battle. It’s all but inevitable.”
Ann nodded in agreement.
“Will that be all?” she asked.
Wu thought for a moment. “Actually, no. Do you think you’d be able to teach tonight’s navigation lesson?”
Ann’s eyes widened in surprise. “I-I’m not entirely sure if I’m up to the task, Sensei. Remember last time?” Her mind quickly flashed back to when she had covered a botany lesson back in August. She’d taken the boys out into the forest to try and identify plants in the wild, and, well, Jay had gotten a box elder seedling confused with poison ivy and they ended up having to bandage his hands for a while, not to mention their little termite incident not long after. She hadn’t been as vigilant as she’d needed to be, and the fact that her students couldn’t identify poison ivy and an infested tree only made matters worse.
“Young Ann, everyone makes mistakes, myself included, and I do not blame you for simply being young and inexperienced. We learn from mistakes and grow stronger. No one matures by never trying something new. In any case, you’re still a student yourself, and I don’t expect teaching to come naturally to you. I would do it myself, but I have some rather pressing matters to attend to that simply cannot be pushed back any longer,” he explained. “I will return by noon tomorrow. Normally I would include young Keaton, but seeing as how she’s so tired, it may be best to let her rest.”
“Yes... of course,” said Ann, who now felt somewhat ashamed for lying. Keaton loved astronomy and navigation. “She needs her rest. She is only thirteen, after all.”
Wu have a soft chuckle. “Only thirteen, indeed. I still remember when you were both very little. You’ve grown so much since then.”
“Not really, I’m afraid,” said Ann solemnly.
“But you have,” he pressed. “Do you think that frightened, frail little girl I found on my doorstep all those years ago could’ve infiltrated the Underworld?” Ann was silent as he walked over to her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “I know it isn’t always easy, little one. Especially without your—“
“—I’m fine, Sensei,” Ann cut in. “I have you and Keaton, and that’s all I need.” Wu gave her a look that said, ‘are you sure about that?’ but he didn’t speak another word on the subject. Instead, he stroked her head affectionately then dismissed her.
Wu was just trying to be gentle towards her feelings, considering her circumstances, but he really didn’t need to. She’d been fine on her own for years.
Ann walked slowly to her room, dreading having to face her sister again, but she had been in the right, hadn’t she? Keaton needed to focus on other things. Still... there had to be a better way to get her to see that.
“Aaah!” she suddenly shrieked as she tripped on something and fell to the ground with barely enough time to cushion her fall in the dark hallway.
“Ow...” somebody groaned.
There was someone else here, but the hallways were pitch black at this time of night— just before the candles were lit—that she hadn’t seen him.
“I am so sorry,” she exclaimed, desperately trying to get her feet off of his lap.
“Ann, is that you?” he asked.
“Yes... Cole?” She had to squint in the dark light, but it was definitely him, sitting alone in the hallway. “What on earth are you doing here?” They both stood up as quickly as they could, trying to keep some space between them.
“W-well, I-I-I,” Cole stuttered.
“You should be in bed by now,” Ann chastised.
“U-uh, right, sorry, goodnight,” he stammered, and then he turned around and started walking away until she could no longer see him.
Ann released an exasperated sigh and turned around. What was up with him? Well, she didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, because right now she needed to get to sleep so she could teach with full strength tomorrow. It wasn’t very often that Wu asked her to do something like this, given the fact that she was still a student, but she was experienced enough to teach simple things whenever Wu was preoccupied, and she was determined to do a good job.
She entered her bedroom a few seconds later and found it completely dark. Keaton had gone to bed already, and she had also cleaned up the room until it was just as spotless as Ann had left it that morning. She walked over to Keaton’s bed and laid a hand on her sister’s idle shoulder.
“Hey,” she said quietly and she watched Keaton slowly turn over on her mattress to look at her. “Change of plans. We’re teaching the navigation lesson in the morning.” Ann was hoping that this might cheer Keaton up a little, but when she didn’t smile, Ann quickly added, “But if you’d rather sleep, that’s fine.”
Keaton nodded and Ann felt some tension leave her body. She stood up and went to go to bed herself, hoping that tomorrow would be a smoother day.
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