The Crazy Art Called Love

15 | Ponchos During Christmas

~~Cole's POV~~

I can't believe I had to send Vania home right before I could introduce her to the team. We were all gathered in the commissioner's office to discuss the matters that happened last night. Apparently a crazy biker g**g started ransacking the place the second we all left. I mean, how did they even know we were all gone?

I shuddered as the thoughts began to flow through my mind. The only logical explanation would be we were being watched and that's never a good feeling. Back to the matter at hand, Vania and I were having a great time last night at the market.

Although they didn't know it, we practically followed Lloyd and Harumi for a good half hour to check the progress of those love birds, since Vania insisted and I tagged along because I was genuinely curious.

It was hard to find the right disguises but we managed to blend in and they didn't notice a single thing! They were so lovey-dovey and playful with each other that I had to force Vania to focus on our date. After that we had a picnic under the stars, one of the most romantic things I could think of, where Vania had made me some cake! Was I the luckiest or what?

We kissed and talked and stargazed as the hours just flew over our heads. I was grateful that the King of Shintaro had allowed her daughter to visit the city. They were rare occasions, except for when they had to visit the royal family, but I was always happy to spend any time we have together.

"Cole? Cole!" A hand waved in front of me and snapped me out of my thoughts. I shook my head and turned my attention towards Jay.

"Yes?"

"What is up with you? You've been lost since the ride here. And what's with that weird smile on your face?"

"Sorry. Just thinking of something." Or someone. I wanted to add but I cleared my throat and immediately placed on a serious look.

"Well you better start thinking of how we're going to catch that g**g!" Jay pointed out and I turned my head to listen to the commissioner.

"Are there any people who got injured?" Kai asked with concern.

"Nothing our paramedics can't handle." The commissioner dismissed immediately. "There have been reports you were present at the event last night. But you disappeared during the attack."

"Well yeah! Because it was 3 in the morning. And we didn't expect a whole raid, we were there for hours!" Nya crossed her arms. Rumors are horrible things. I don't even know why people bother create them.

"This g**g is clearly trouble. Do we have any records on them?" Lloyd questioned.

"Negative. It is the first time we have encountered a bike g**g in the city." Zane answered because who needs files when you have your own nindroid.

"I say we get to the bottom of this. Surely you caught someone, right?" I suggested and the commissioner scratched the back of his head.

"About that. Our force was also busy in the market, when the action started, our first priority was the people."

"Great. How are we going to defeat them now?" Jay complained from my side.

"We won't. At least not yet." Lloyd declared and we all gave him a confused look. "If this is the first crime they've committed, surely there will be more. And once we find out what these crimes are, we arrive at the scene and catch them."

"You're saying we wait for another attack?" Nya raised an eyebrow.

"It's the only way we can be able to capture them without their knowledge."

"It best we take patrol over the city. That way, we would be the first to know when another attack is happening." Zane proposed and I honestly thought it was a good idea.

"Well then, it seems like you ninja have it all under control. If you need any help you know who to call." The commissioner stated before walking back to his desk.

We all left the station and as we were walking down the stairs, I spotted a certain someone waving at me from a smoothie stand.

"I-uhm. I'm thirsty. I'm gonna go grab us some drinks." I came up with the first excuse that popped into my head.

"Great! I'll come with you." Kai offered before wrapping an arm around my shoulder and I froze.

"Uh, yeah sure! But uh, I can handle it." I tried my best to get away from his grip.

"Why are you in a rush?" Kai gasped as if he realized something and my heart started beating faster than normal. "You're meeting a girl aren't you?"

"What?"

"Nuh-uh, Cole. You've been at it lately and I can tell if it's a girl you're going after."

"What's this about Cole having a girlfriend?" Jay joined the conversation and I groaned.

"There is no girl, Kai. And stop spreading rumors, Zaptrap! Now, if you two don't mind, I would like to get some juice." I began to walk as casual as I could. I felt their eyes on my back for a second and it made me want to run.

"I thought you wanted a smoothie—." Kai called out but I had no time to correct myself.

I approached the stand and a lady wearing sunglasses, a poncho, and a huge hat on her head, smiled.

"Hey, you." She greeted and I laughed.

"Vania, that's the worse disguise you've ever worn."

"It's not that bad."

"It's Christmas time and you're wearing a poncho."

"Stylish and it keeps me warm. I beg to differ." She did a little spin before bursting into a fit of laughter.

I paid for my smoothie and made sure none of the guys were looking before I pulled Vania by her waist and brought her into a kiss.

"I missed you." I whispered as we pulled apart.

"I missed you too, hero. But you just saw me last night." Vania tapped my cheek lightly and I grinned.

"That's a whole 11 hours without you."

"We've been apart longer than that. I'm sure you can handle it." She then peaked behind my shoulder. "Are those your friends?"

"Yep! Would you like to meet them?"

"Uh." She looked down at her outfit. "Sure, why not."

I grabbed her hand and we both walked over to the guys. I cannot believe this is happening.

"Oh my gosh. You're Cole's girlfriend!" Nya exclaimed when she spotted us before I could even say a word. She placed a hand over her mouth after she realized what she had done. "I am so sorry. Hang on, all of you did not hear anything!"

She waved her hands to the guys and I chuckled.

"It's alright, Nya. Everyone, this is Vania. My girlfriend." I stated and everyone looked at me with a surprise face. "Vany, that is Nya, Kai, Jay, Zane, and Lloyd."

"I was only kidding, Cole. You didn't have to drag a random person to be your girlfriend." Kai rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing things right.

"Was it the kiss that convinced you? Or are you being paid?" Jay asked as he squinted his eyes and I resisted the urge to hit him in the back of his head.

"Actually, we've been dating for months now. Right under your noses." Vania defended.

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"What is up with you people these days and secrets?"

"Congratulations, Cole. I intend to get to know more about you and your mate." Zane patted my back before turning to Vania. "It is nice to meet you, Vania. My name is Zane."

"I'm glad to finally meet you, Zane."

"It is my pleasure."

"Wait. Vania? Like, Rumi's friend?" Lloyd was the last one to react and I could see a smile form on my girlfriend's face.

"The one and only, Mr. Lloyd Garmadon." She responded.

"Does she know about this?"

"I actually plan on telling her later." Vania stated as Lloyd went to pull out his phone. "So please, don't ruin the surprise."

"I won't." He smiled and I nodded.

"Thank you. It was nice meeting you all but I must get back to my gua—my car. Yes. My father will be looking for me soon and it's best I get going." Vania nearly slipped about the fact she was a princess. I guess she didn't want people to know either.

"Care to join us during Christmas? We're having a party and we're all meeting Lloyd's girlfriend. Which I take you two are already friends." Jay started blabbering like he always does so I spoke up to stop him.

"Can you come?" I turned to face her.

"I'll see what I can do." She smiled and I knew she was up for a long day of making up reasons to her father. "I gotta go, I'll call you later okay?"

Vania stood on her tiptoes and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before running off. I shifted my weight from either of my foot and stood there with what Jay would call a love-sick grin.

"Easy there, Romeo." Kai teased which got me out of my trance.

"Pixal and I are taking all your girlfriends out for Christmas. We need, uh, a one on one with them all." Nya declared and began typing on her phone. I knew she was just excited to finally have some more girl company after spending most of her life with us boys.

"So, about the patrols." Lloyd started and we all paid attention to what he had to say. "Let's divide into pairs, what we can't cover, I'm sure the commissioner would be happy to take over."

"How long are we going to do this? I promised Pixal we would go out on a date tonight." Zane stated and I was more than surprised to see them actually going out on a proper date.

"Just some quick rounds through the city. We should be done after 2 hours." Lloyd confirmed.

~~Harumi's POV~~

I was happy from the moment I woke up until Hutchins called me for my weekly princess inspection. Why? I just had the most amazing night with Lloyd Garmadon and even if it had to come to an end, I would never forget the memories we created.

He left a note on my bedside table which was the first thing my eyes laid upon when I opened them.

You fell asleep on the way home so I brought you to your room and tucked you in. I hope you had as much fun as I did.

PS. I left your bear and our pictures underneath your bed if you ever find yourself looking for them. I took a copy for myself if you don't mind.

See you,

Greenie

I did have fun and I quickly scrambled under my bed to find the bear and one of the photos from our photo booth experience. At the very end, was the photo of Lloyd kissing my cheek. I was thankful the camera did not capture the blush on my face.

I looked down on my clothes and realized I was still wearing my outfit from last night. Hutchins or any of the guards definitely cannot see me in this so I quickly ran into the bathroom for a shower.

"Can you show me what are the proper ways on how we greet guests?" Hutchins instructed me as he paced back and forth. I demonstrated everything just like how the books and my instructors taught me. "Very well. Now, what is the proper shade of face paint you must wear in public?"

The test went on and on for what felt like hours. I wanted nothing more than to get it over with and get some more sleep. Finally, after a horrid experience of ballroom practice, which ended in more broken toes for Hutchins than it did for me, I was dismissed and free to go upon the rest of my day.

"Good afternoon, Princess." One of the gardeners greeted and I smiled in acknowledgement.

"Where are you of to your highness?" Another gardener asked as they tended the weeds. Some trimmed the bushes while others planted flowers.

"Just taking a stroll." I answered and continued walking through the gardens. I wanted to call Lloyd to hang out but I didn't want to seem clingy.

And besides, there was that attack last night which thankfully covered the news of Lloyd having a girlfriend. But that did not make me any less worried for the citizens.

"Something on your mind, Princess?" A voice called from behind me that I recognized too well. When you almost get murdered in a creepy alleyway, you tend to remember what they sound or look like.

"You! How did you get in here?" I turned around to find the same girl from the noodle stand standing right in front of me disguised in a gardener's outfit.

"Please. It was so simple to enter your palace. You are the princess after all." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I shouldn't be talking to you." I remember what I promised Lloyd no matter how hard it was to stay focused on what he was saying.

"And yet here we are. I grew impatient."

"What do you want from me?"

"You see, Harumi. Not everything is about you. Have you ever thought of what you could want from me?"

I raised an eyebrow until I realized she was talking about my parents.

"What could you possibly know about them? They're gone!"

"They don't have to be."

What? How could she say that so easily?

"My parent's died 11 years ago. They can't be alive. Otherwise I wouldn't be here in the first place." I was careful but it was hard to keep a straight face when this was the topic.

"Of course they're dead, Harumi. But that doesn't mean you can't know why. You are their daughter of course."

"They died in a car accident and I was the only one left to survive."

"Oh? But did you ever see their bodies? Did you ever find out where they were buried?"

"Alright, then tell me. If you're so insistent on me knowing." I crossed my arms.

"Ha! It's not that simple, Princess. I require something in return." I knew this wasn't coming in for free.

"What do you want? Gems? Jewelry? Gold?"

"Certainly not. I require a map of your palace."

"And why do you think I would just hand that over to you?"

"It would be worth it, Princess. You'll have all your questions answered."

"No thank you. I can get the information myself. Now I suggest you leave the premises and never come back before I have to make you myself." She wasn't worth my time. I just hope I was making the right decision.

"You think everyone would just obey what you say because you're the princess?" It was now her turn to cross her arms. "You might want to reconsider the choice you're making. I have ways of getting what I want."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Let's just say. I'm an old friend." She winked before scaling the wall and jumping out with ease.

I turned around and proceeded to walk away. I absolutely cannot let her get into my head. Why can't she just leave me alone?! Lloyd told me he could get whatever information I needed and that was better than giving away the palace secrets.

"She's not going to get away with this." I kicked a pebble in frustration.

"Who's not?" I heard someone ask. I looked around but I couldn't find who was talking. "Up here, Rumi."

Speaking of the ninja.

"Hey, Lloyd! What brings you here?" I tried to cover up my frustration with a smile. "And how did you get in?"

"I'm on patrol and I thought I'd come visit you." He removed his mask and crouched down on the edge of the wall. "Don't worry the guards know I'm here."

A few gardeners looked our way now to try and find out what was happening. I could hear their whispers but I decided to ignore it.

"Found anything yet, then?" I tried to make conversation.

"So far everything is normal. I did find these though." He jumped down and held up a bouquet of hydrangeas. The colors were an assortment of white and green.

"Wow." I gasped in awe at their beauty and took them from his hands. "What's this for?" I smiled before taking a sniff at the scent.

"I passed by a shop and the colors reminded me of you." Lloyd scratched the back of his neck and I chuckled.

"Thank you, Greenie. They're beautiful."

"You're welcome, Princess." He smiled before taking a look around. "I need to get going. But I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course."

"Great." He bowed down and grabbed my hand before pressing a small kiss on top of it. Why did that gesture always give me butterflies?

"S-see you, Lloyd." I stammered as I watched him do some flips before disappearing behind the palace walls.

Was this man really trying to get me to fall for him more? Because it's working. A series of 'ooh's' echoed behind me and I turned my head to see the gardeners and my maids with smirks on their faces.

"It looks like the Green Ninja is taking an interest in our Princess." Here we go.

"Do you like him, Ms. Harumi?"

I smiled. But I wasn't going to spill all my feelings on them.

"We're good friends." I simply answered.

"Doesn't look like friends to me. I saw how he looks at you, Princess." One of them pointed out which made me place a hand on my hip.

"Don't you have flowers to grow?" I teased and they laughed before going on with their day.

I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day. The flowers were now sitting on top of my desk in a vase full of water. Every time Hutchins saw me he would raise an eyebrow then shrug. Whatever that girl had said was all forgotten. She can't ruin my day.