The Crazy Art Called Love

9 | A Holiday Reveal

~~Harumi's POV~~

One of the things I love about Christmas is the positivity that was in the air. It may not snow much in Ninjago but it was a merry time indeed. Another one of the joys it brings was that It was also the only time I was actually allowed to go outside.

The Emperor and Empress wanted me to provide a good image for the royal family so they sent me with a guard to do some good deeds across the streets of Ninjago.

"I look ridiculous. Do I really have to wear this?" I asked Vania as I was trying out the dress that Hutchins brought for me. According to him, I was under strict orders to wear it.

"Rumi, I have never seen a dress so ugly. It's like they are trying hard to embarrass you." Vania laughed from my phone.

"You think I don't notice? I really hope Lloyd doesn't see me."

"You haven't told him?"

"I don't know how! 'Hey Lloyd, did I mention I was the princess of Ninjago?'" I stated sarcastically before changing from the dress.

"You should take it easy on him. In your stories, he seems like a really nice and understanding guy. You could practically tell him anything."

"I know. But I don't want him to think that he has to protect me more just because I'm royalty when I never really asked to be one."

I took the fabric of the dress in my hands and immediately got an idea. I grabbed a pair of scissors from my desk, a measuring tape, and some thread.

"What are you doing?" Vania asked trying to get a better look from my phone.

"I'm doing what you taught me to do when we're given horrible dresses."

"That's my girl!"

"Thank you, Vany."

"I need to go, Rumi. Just like you, my Father also demands that I show my gratitude to the village." She sighed and I giggled.

"Did you get a horrible dress too?"

"I got to pick mine but I'm sure you can make it stand out."

She ended the call and I immediately got to work. As I sewed the fabric together my thoughts trailed off to how I was going to tell Lloyd about my social status. Knowing him, he wouldn't care and I know it won't change anything in our relationship but I was still scared of what he thought. Only his opinion matters to me.

"If he sees me today, I'm telling him." I told myself confidently before putting my new dress and applying some face paint.

"Princess Harumi, it is time to go." Hutchins knocked on my door. I grabbed a purse and placed my phone inside along with a change of clothes.

I opened the door and I immediately knew that Hutchins was furious.

"What are you wearing, princess?" He asked with a frustrated look.

From a long ugly green dress, I was now wearing a white top with laced sleeves which had twin candy canes on the front. I cut the green skirt of my gown and turned it into the perfect length which was a few inches below my knee. The skirt was filled with small snowflakes while I wore matching jade green shoes.

"It's the dress you gave me. Now come on, we're going to be late." I grabbed his arm and excitedly dragged him towards the palace gates.

After a discussion of reminders about going outside and meeting the public, which I already knew, I was finally free to go. To avoid their suspicions, I started with the tasks I had to do first. A short car ride took me to an orphanage where I handed out small gifts to the children and was asked to read a story.

"Are you a real princess?" One of the many children surrounding me asked.

There were some journalists and photographers inside too. Probably the Emperor and Empress wanting some publicity so they're taking some from my good deeds.

"Yes, I am. Have a merry Christmas." I handed her a present which made the child smile.

"Thank you, Princess Harumi." She gave me a hug which made me jump a bit but I returned it immediately after a quick gesture towards the guards that it was alright.

Next stop was one of the soup kitchens that fed the poor on a nightly basis. It was my choice to volunteer and I knew the Emperor and Empress wouldn't say no. It was a small restaurant ran by this very nice family. I enjoyed helping people even if I wasn't required to do it.

"Ah, you must be the Princess. Are you sure you're okay with doing this?" One of the owners asked as I entered the restaurant.

It was a small building that was decorated especially for the holidays. Christmas trees, wreaths, even a hanging Santa Claus on the ceiling. There were enough tables and chairs to fit at least 25 people and the kitchen was just behind the register.

"I am more than happy to help out, Mrs. Garcia." I replied with a smile which she easily returned before guiding me to the direction of the kitchen.

After serving more soup than I could possibly imagine, the next thing I had to do was help out at a local charity the Royal Family chose to sponsor for this year.

"What is that?" I asked and pointed towards the silver plates the guard was holding as I took a bite out of the candy cane in my hand.

"Cupcakes. The Empress baked them especially for this occasion." The guard explained and that's how I found myself distributing desserts towards the staff of the charity.

They were not the same kind of cupcakes you would eat repeatedly but I gave them points for trying. At least I know the Empress wasn't trying to poison the committee on purpose. After taking a few photos with the staff, I immediately sat down on one of the benches in front of the tents.

My feet were killing me and my back was starting to hurt. I thought I had finally caught a break, but that was until I saw a familiar blond haired, green eyed boy walking towards the building. What was he doing here?

"Master Wu told us to help out. We're not here for the free food, Cole." I could hear him talking from the distance and I took that as a sign to get out of there. I know I said I would tell him but I just couldn't bring myself to do so.

~~Lloyd's POV~~

"The princess is missing!" I happened to overhear a conversation as Cole, Zane, and I reached the tents.

"I didn't know Ninjago had a princess." Cole stated and I knew he heard it too.

"It is best we investigate further on this, Lloyd." Zane suggested and I nodded in agreement.

"What's going on?" I asked as we approached what looked like the guards of the royal family. They had gold armor on and what I assumed was the family crest, was stamped on their chest.

"The jade princess went missing. And we are under strict orders to not let her leave our sights." One them explained and I could already hear the panic and worry in his voice.

"Don't worry. We'll handle this, what does she look like?"

"She has blonde hair and she's wearing a white and green dress. About this tall."

That was odd. The girl sounds a lot like Harumi but she couldn't possibly be the princess they were looking for, right? Many people in Ninjago love green.

"We're on it. Cole, you take that side and Zane you take the other. I'll go this way." They both nodded and we immediately scattered to find the missing princess.

I had checked every corner of the place but I still couldn't find the girl. There was only a few places you could hide and I was certain I would have found her by now. That was until I heard some footsteps behind one of the trees and I knew everyone was out at the front. No one would come here alone. Unless they didn't want to be found.

"Rumi?"

I was in shock. I knew I wasn't wrong when I first heard of the description they gave me.

"Oh. Lloyd! Hello." She waved and smiled at me but that only left me more confused. Harumi tried to make a run for it but it looks like fate was on my side when she tripped on a rock.

"Hey, easy now." I went over to help her up as she dusted the grass from her dress. I wasn't lying if I say she was breathtaking. "What are you doing here?"

"Just, getting some fresh air that's all."

I knew her well enough that I could tell she was lying. I crossed my arms and huffed which made her sigh.

"Alright, alright. I'm the Jade Princess, Princess Harumi." She confessed and I immediately dropped my arms. "Are you mad?"

Harumi looked down at the grass and started shifting her weight from one foot to another. I couldn't help but take in how beautiful she looked right now but I immediately shook my head away from that thought.

"No. No, of course not." I responded with a smile as I walked towards her. "I just did not expect you to be royalty."

"Why? Is it a bad thing?"

"Rumi, there's nothing wrong with it. I didn't consider it because you always just seemed so cool and outgoing about things. Definitely not how a Princess would act."

Harumi giggled at that before gesturing to the park bench on our right.

"It really isn't."

She went quiet for a bit while I took the time to process the new infromation. Harumi was a princess. Like, a real one! I am going to be in so much trouble now.

"So, you're not disappointed or anything?" She bit her lip and I could tell she was really insecure about all this. I placed a hand on her shoulder and offered a soft smile.

"Rumi, Princess or not you're still you. The only difference is just where you come from." I didn't matter to me at all. Although a weird urge to protect her just ran through my veins. "I'm just wondering why you had to hide it from me in the first place."

"I didn't want you to be more protective over me. I can handle myself, Greenie and I don't need more people to think I'm a damsel in distress or a spoiled brat."

"You're neither of those things, Rumi. And I understand."

She still seemed on the edge so I pulled her into a hug. I could feel her stiffen in my arms before she gave in and hugged back.

"What's this for?" Harumi asked as she rested her head on my chest. I really hope she didn't notice how fast my heart was racing right now.

"I know you would tell me eventually but I want you to know that it doesn't change anything between us. Honestly, I'm more worried about how the Emperor and Empress treat you."

She smelled like peppermint and I couldn't help but want more of her scent. I started playing with the strands of her hair and I saw a smile on her face.

"You're the best. You know that?" Harumi looked up to meet my eyes.

"Thank you. But are you sure they won't have my head for sneaking you out of the city?" I joked to ease her nerves and I think it worked when she started laughing.

"They would if they found out."

I wasn't sure whether or not she was joking but after winking at me I knew I had nothing to worry about except for the growing blush on my face.

"I need to continue my duties. Thank you for finding me but I have to go back to my guards." She stated and pulled away from our hug. If I was being honest, I was a little sad that we couldn't stay like that any longer but I couldn't understand why.

"Maybe I'll catch you later?" I offered and got up as well.

"You know how to contact me, Greenie."

We both walked back towards the tents until I spotted Cole and Zane talking with the guards. I waved my hand and their face immediately turned into relief.

"There you are! We were starting to worry you got kidn*pped too." Cole joked before wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Hello, Princess Harumi." Zane greeted with a bow which Rumi gladly returned.

"You must be Zane, Master of Ice, I have heard a lot about you from Lloyd."

"I hope it had all been good things."

"Of course. Lloyd takes pride in his family and you are one of the people he is happy to brag about." Harumi giggled before placing a playful punch on my arm.

"Guys, this is Rumi. The girl I've been hanging out with." I explained after seeing the confused looks on their faces.

"I see you've been keeping our little green bean busy." Cole commented and my face flushed at the nickname.

"Cole!" I whined and swatted his arm away from me but I could hear Harumi giggle.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Harumi." Cole extended his hand and shook hers which made a small twinge of jealously start in my nerves. Why was I feeling this?

"You too, Cole. Master of Earth."

"Princess, we must get back to the palace." One of her guards stated and she nodded.

"It was nice to meet you two." She smiled towards Zane and Cole before turning towards me.

"Uh, am I supposed to bow or something?" I scratched the back of my head after realizing there may be more to Harumi being royalty than I expected.

"It was always required. You just chose not to."

"Well then," I grabbed her hand and brought it up to my lips before planting a small kiss on it while I bowed. "I hope that makes up with it." I winked and saw a tint of red start to form on her cheeks.

"Right." She cleared her throat before waving her hand as she left with the guards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How long have you been dating?" Cole asked as we entered a shop. As expected, it was a pastry store.

"Excuse me?"

Although I knew what he was talking about, I still needed confirmation.

"You and Rumi. You can't tell me that after all those weeks together you're still not dating." He raised an eyebrow at me before turning to the cashier. "A dozen donuts please."

"We're not dating, Cole." I confirmed.

"Sure doesn't look like it."

"What makes you say that?"

"The way you two look at each other. If you were friends, they definitely don't do that." Cole got the box and we headed out. "Just look at me and Zane." He placed an arm around our brother.

"Alright, what else?" I asked. I never noticed Rumi and I appeared more like lovers than friends. The thought made a blush appear on my face but I quickly shook it off.

"You blush when you're around her. Like right now." He pointed out and placed my hands on my face to try and cover up the heat.

"I'm flustered."

"Because we're talking about Rumi?"

"No!"

"Your heart levels are rising at the mention of her name. It appears Cole's theories are correct." Zane explained.

Sometimes it was hard to hide things when you have a nindroid that could read your vitals. I sighed. I really did not want Cole to continue pointing out what Harumi and I are doing. So I gave in, and did what I could to make it stop. Lie.

"Fine! We are dating." I tried to sound as convincing as possible and slowed my heart rate to prevent Zane from reading me.

"I knew it! Wait till the guys here about this." Cole cheered and started jumping while Zane smiled at me.

"Congratulations, Lloyd. I am very happy for you." He nodded and I blushed. Why do I feel so happy over this? I was lying that we were together but it just felt right to tell them that.

"Thank you, Zane." I responded. "Can we please not tell the others she's a princess? I don't want them to make it a big deal."

"Of course." Zane nodded and I was glad he respected my privacy.

"Fine. But they'll find out soon enough." Cole sighed.

"I'd rather have it that way."

On the way back to the monastery, I prepared myself to face a lot of questions. But hopefully it would stop the teasing. I am so doomed.

"You should invite her over for Christmas!" Kai suggested excitedly then he started taping on his phone. "Skylor, guess what? Lloyd's got a girlfriend! I win!"

"I knew you two would make a great couple." Nya ruffled my hair.

"Better than us?" Jay pouted from beside her which made Nya turn all her attention to him.

"Of course not, Sparky."

"Just checking." Jay kissed her cheeks before wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "What's her name?"

"Harumi." I answered before Cole had a chance.

"Ugh, it's not fair they already met her!" Nya pointed to Zane and Cole who were eating donuts in the corner.

"What is she like?" Kai perked up when he finished his call with Skylor.

"She's very beautiful. But not only that, she's brave and adventurous. When I'm with her, I don't feel like a ninja, or the city's destined savior; I'm just Lloyd. A normal teenager." I confessed and unlike everything I have told them so far, this was no lie. "Rumi really knows how to get my spirits up and I enjoy her presence."

"Looks like our green bean is growing up." Kai wiped a fake tear from his eyes.

"You really like this girl, don't you?" Nya nudged my shoulder.

"You should have seen how they looked at each other! How they talked and interacted it was so adorable." Cole recalled and I groaned.

"And to think Lloyd got a girlfriend before you did, Cole!" Jay teased before biting into a donut.

"Hey! I'm waiting for the right person." He defended but I saw a slight smirk behind the donut in his hands.

I raised an eyebrow, he's hiding something. I was thinking of how to escape from their questions but luckily, my phone rang.

"Ooh."

It looks like I was not the only one who noticed. I rolled my eyes and picked up when I saw the caller ID.

"Hey." A smile lit up on my face and that was when I realized my face changed when I switched to who I was talking to.

"Can we talk?" Rumi asked from the other end. Her voice showed no signs of happiness, only worry and doubt. What happened?