•🐉•👑•🐉•👑•🐉•

•🐉•👑•🐉•👑•🐉•

~Why did you steal my cotton candy heart
You threw it in this damn coin slot

And now I'm stuck, I'm stuck
Riding, riding, riding~

•🐉•👑•🐉•👑•🐉•

Lloyd was thankful the mask was concealing his face. As soon as Harumi had taken his hand and stepped onto the balustrade, she had wrapped her arms around his neck causing his cheeks to flush red.

Clearing his throat, he pulled her close to him, told her not to let go and pressed the trigger on the gun. The two of them zipped upwards and Lloyd could feel the princess's grip tighten around him. They flew past the upper storey windows and, without any difficulty, climbed up onto the roof.

Lloyd inserted the grappling hook into the pocket of his belt and turned to face Harumi, grinning. "You didn't scream. That's a good start," he joked, earning a sheepish chuckle from the girl.

"I told you I'd be fine with you," she said, pulling a loose strand of white hair behind her ear.

She appeared surprisingly untroubled for a first experience. Lloyd remembered feeling extremely queasy and shaken the first time he had used the gun. He assumed that after losing her parents and being adopted by none other than the royal family, Harumi had become accustomed to unusual happenings.

A playful voice diverted Lloyd's attention from Harumi. "Right this way, lady and gentleman."

Kai stood a few steps away and was posing as if ushering someone into a theatre. He waggled his eyebrows at Lloyd and gestured at the edge of the roof. The Green Ninja rolled his eyes at his brother's melodramatics but he took Harumi's hand all the same.

The two of them followed Kai as he led them to the boundary. "Your Palace Escape Express takes off from here."

The jump from the main building to the side extension was not that difficult. But Lloyd deduced that Harumi might need some help getting across. That is until Harumi lept clear over the gap and landed in a perfect crouch on the other side before the two young men could even make a move.

She straightened up and turned about to face them, a smirk on her red lips. Kai's jaw dropped and Lloyd had to snap it close again. The princess giggled at the sight and proceeded to move to where Zane and Nya were waiting to meet them. Kai recovered from his shock and he and Lloyd followed suit.

"Where did she learn to jump like that?" Kai whispered at Lloyd, staying a few feet behind the girl so she couldn't hear. "Even I couldn't jump that smoothly when starting out."

"Remember our trip to the canal?" Lloyd asked, "She presumably jumped straight off her balcony and dashed over the rooftops that led me to believe it was a kidnapper. I asked her about it and she said she took lessons from Hutchins in secret."

Kai gave a distracted nod, eyeing the princess with what looked like suspicion to Lloyd. It vanished immediately when the three of them approached Zane and Nya. The ravenette grinned and quickly grabbed Harumi's cheeks, pinching them slightly.

"You look great, Your Highness!" Nya beamed, voice close to an excited squeal. Then, suddenly realizing what she had done, Nya withdrew her hands and hid them behind her back. "Sorry, I forgot my manners for a minute there," she mumbled, glancing at the ground sheepishly.

Smiling, Harumi shook her head and reached for Nya's hands, holding them in hers. "It's quite alright. I don't have many female friends my age. Even my ladies in waiting are all notably older than me."

"Me neither!" Nya squealed, nearly bouncing up and down. "It'll be great to have someone to talk to and relate stuff with. If you don't mind, of course."

"If you ladies are done conversing, I say we move on with the escape," Zane cut in, not impatiently. He seemed to be in a charming, rebellious mood and the other Ninja were surprised he had even agreed to this plan when the Green Ninja had given the incentive.

"Oh, right," Nya grinned guiltily, getting raised eyebrows from her brother. She and Harumi exchanged smiles before Nya pointed at a group of horizontal beams that connected the building they were on to the gate wall. "You'll need to continue from here if you want to make it out unseen. It's likely the guards will notice you on the bridge but we have Cole and Jay for distraction."

Harumi edged closer to one of the beams and glanced down, retreating quickly. Her eyes were wide and Lloyd noticed fear flicker in them. "Okay, I may be good at jumping and all but balancing on beams and wires is really not my thing."

Kai flapped a hand at that. "Pshhhtt! That's, like, the most fun activity there is," he declared proudly. Then, taking something into consideration, he added," Unless you include the fact that you may fall and break your bones."

"It is simple," Zane said, making an attempt to distract the princess from thinking up horrifying consequences. "Allow me to demonstrate." The nindroid jumped onto one of the beams. Though he could do the job effortlessly, he still spread out his arms and displayed the beginner's way of doing it. One foot after the other and body straight and unfaltering, he made it over to the other side.

Zane gestured for Harumi to try who immediately cowered back, bumping into Lloyd. The blonde silently nodded his head at Nya and Kai as the two of them crossed the obstacle with equal ease. Lloyd then gently guided the princess towards the edge despite her incessant denials.

"Everything will be fine," Lloyd reassured, turning Harumi so that she was facing the beams. "I'll be right behind you, ready to catch you if you slip. You just need to trust me."

Harumi hesitantly placed her foot on the wooden balk and instinctively threw her arms on either side of her. Without a second to waste, Lloyd reached forward from behind and grabbed her hands, straightening her arms to the correct position.

"I've got you," he muttered when he felt the girl shivering. "Keep moving." With her back pressed against his chest and hands interlocked, Lloyd helped Harumi across the beam. His adept feet and balance provided a steady frame for the girl to take advantage from and move onward.

Zane, Kai and Nya offered whispered words of encouragement from the other side. Halfway across, Harumi didn't place her foot right and nearly slipped, causing her to let out a short scream. Lloyd quickly gripped her wrists tighter and realigned her feet with his, hoping desperately none of the guards had heard the scream.

When they had reached the end, Nya had climbed back up in order to take the princess and lead her onto stable ground. Lloyd hopped off directly after, getting a pat on the back from Kai.

"That . . . was . . . terrifying . . ." Harumi gasped, still shaking. A ghost of a smile rested on her lips. "But it was a thrilling experience as well."

She calmed herself down and glanced at Lloyd, the setting sun reflecting in her blue eyes. "Thank you."

"Just doing my job as an escort, Your Highness," Lloyd joked, a triumphant tone leaking into his voice.

Harumi raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really?" she asked with a smile. "I never knew it was in your job description to smuggle the princess out of the palace."

Kai burst into snickers as Lloyd dropped his smugness and began stuttering. "I- But you said . . . I didn't mean to–"

The two present girls started giggling at the nonplused boy. Lloyd shook his head and gave them a look that confirmed he was pouting under the mask. "We better get moving," he muttered, trying to change the subject.

"I would advise you to keep your hood up, Your Highness," Zane suggested. "We are nearing the gates and I'm afraid your bright hair might give you away."

Harumi nodded and tugged on the hood of her short jacket, completely hiding her white tresses from plain sight. Lloyd motioned for her to follow and steered the group up to the bridge.

Jay and Cole were already there. They waved at them and made a gesture to keep quiet, pointing down at the gates.

"Hutchins," Kai whispered, causing everyone to crouch lower.

"Where?" Lloyd turned to where Kai was indicating. The Master at Arms was talking quickly to the guards but the words weren't very clear from this high up. From what Lloyd could tell, it was something about keeping security tight after sunset. One of the guards yelled to the warden at the palace doors, informing him to double the sentry at every post.

"Alert the Ninja to keep a sharper eye as well," the guard added. "They have indoor duty tonight. After the royal family sleeps, they're to patrol the palace halls."

"They'll be searching for us," Nya mumbled. "We better get back to our posts before they find us gone."

"No," Lloyd shook his head. "Jay and Cole can handle it."

He signalled to the respective ninjas and pointed at the guards below. Jay did a two-fingered salute before he and Cole leaped off the walkway to confront the guards.

"Hey, fellas!" Lloyd heard Cole say. "We just overheard something about tight security. What's the deal?"

The Green Ninja took this opportunity to make a run for the farthest corner of the bridge. He seized Harumi's hand and stealthily made his way to his destination. Kai, Nya and Zane soon followed.

"This is where we leave you," Zane stated, bowing his head briefly.

Harumi looked confused. "Aren't you all coming along?"

Kai let out a sarcastic laugh. "What? And ruin Lloyd's date–"

The Green Ninja immediately cut in. "You see, Rumi, the others need to be here in case the Sons of Garmadon show up. That's what, uh, Kai was trying to say." Lloyd ended with a happier tone but his eyes were narrowed to slits when he looked at the Master of Fire.

Sure, Lloyd had technically asked the princess out on what his teammates wanted to term as a "date" but he wasn't ready to admit this to Harumi. To her, he just wanted this to be a source of recreation because he knew what it was like to be trapped in expectations.

"Oh, I do hope nothing of the sort happens though," Harumi commented, choosing to ignore the date remark made by Kai.

"Even if it does, we're all here to help," Nya announced, placing a hand on her chest. "You can count on us, Your Highness."

"Please," the princess spoke, "Harumi is fine. I am not fit for that title anyway. If anything, I should be respecting all of you."

"Aw shucks, you're embarrassing us," came Jay's blithe voice from behind them. They all turned to see him and Cole sitting on the low wall of the walkway. "The guards are none the wiser so we're all clear," the Master of Lightning added with a thumbs-up when asked about the distraction.

"Good," Lloyd nodded. He glanced at Harumi. "Ready to go?"

Upon receiving an agreeing look, Lloyd climbed over the barrier. He called at the girl to follow before jumping and landing on the other side of the boundary wall. He looked up to see Harumi inching closer to the edge.

"Jump," Lloyd whisper-shouted at her, holding out his arms. "Don't worry, I'll catch–"

Before he could finish his sentence, Harumi dropped down from the wall, descending with a quiet thud of her boots. Once again, Lloyd stared dumbstruck. A voice floated from above and it turned out be Kai's.

"Damn."

Harumi smiled when she noticed Lloyd staring at her. "Let's go," she stated and got on the trail that led to the canal streets.

Lloyd hesitantly stepped forward before stopping. He turned back to the palace, wondering if his friends would be successful in covering them up. He didn't want Hutchins to discover they'd run off again. What if he ridiculed him and the other Ninja in front of the entire city? Their reputation would be ruined.

Step up your game.

What was the game of love? A ground where you don't think of the consequences. You only think of achieving what your heart desires. He had always played carefully up till now. It didn't get him too far. Now, it was time to bend the rules.

Lloyd took a deep breath. He slowly walked away before gradually speeding up and running after the princess.

"Rumi, wait up!"

•🐉•👑•🐉•👑•🐉•

Have some candy!

🍭🍬🍭🍬🍭🍬