Here it is at last, the prologue! Things are about to get pretty crazy, and I'm so excited to share this with all of you! Please feel free to drop a comment if you enjoyed it, or if you have any questions or thoughts regarding the story! 

On another note, please don't kill me because there's no Lloyd x Reader content here in this prologue. XDD This story is super complex, and there's a lot going on, so these first few chapters are going to seem a little chaotic since I'm trying to flesh out everything and get you all introduced to the story. 

Like I mentioned in the author's note, some things probably won't make a lot of sense or seem to fit together very well until later on in the book, but that just means more suspense and foreshadowing, which are always fun elements to include in a story.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the prologue! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, your support means the world to me and I'm so grateful to have you as my readers! Make sure to take care of yourself, and keep being amazing!  <333 

trigger warning for difficult family situations, self depreciation, a nervous breakdown, lots of stress, mild language (?), feelings of hopelessness, pretty depressing vibes on behalf of the main character's thoughts and struggles, and just for being a pretty emotional chapter overall.

{ 🍃 • 🐉 • 🍃 }

 »  – - almost six years ago - – «

Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon had royally screwed up.

His life was nothing but a giant mess right now, but to be fair, it always had been. Being the son of an evil warlord doesn't exactly make things easy for you, and today was no exception.

There were scattered piles of books on his desk, all of them messy and unorganized, and stray pieces of paper littered the small space as well as the floor. He had multiple assignments due this Friday, and he'd barely even looked at any of them. 

Things had just been so crazy lately that he'd lost track both of time and his homework, not that it really mattered much. Even if, by some miracle, he was able to scrape together something decent, it wasn't like a few good assignments would affect his grade or anything.

It seemed as if no matter how hard he tried, he was always destined to be a failure. Not just at school, but at life too.

Sometimes, he swore that the whole world was against him, which honestly wasn't much of an exaggeration. Things just never seemed to go his way. And today was no exception.

"What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" The exhausted teen mumbled, repeating the words over and over again as he paced back and forth in his room, wishing that perhaps the repetition would somehow bring to mind an answer to his questions.

Poor Lloyd was a wreck. He'd barely slept at all these last few weeks, what with everything going on, and the lack of sleep was beginning to have quite an effect on him. 

"What am I going to do?" He whispered one last time, sinking down onto his bed with a pained sigh, resting his head in his hands as he angrily tugged at his messy blonde hair in an attempt to relive some of his stress and frustration.

Something on the floor caught his eye just then, a sliver of green fabric partially buried under some stuff. Suddenly curious, Lloyd yanked it out from underneath his bed, holding it up for a closer look. Upon realizing what it was, he dropped it as if it were a hot coal. 

"My mask?" He mumbled, voice suddenly thick with confusion and worry as he hopped off of his bed, kneeling down beside it in search of the rest of his ninja gi, terrified that he had accidentally left it out in plain sight. When was the last time he'd worn it?

A frantic search revealed his faded green backpack, partially unzipped, with the rest of his gi stuffed haphazardly inside. All in a rush, it came back to Lloyd, and he let out a relived sigh. He'd placed it in there after the last mission, and simply forgotten about it. No one had seen it, no one had taken it, and his identity was still safe. Everything was fine, at least for the time being.

Who knew what Garmadon was planning now? Strangely enough, he hadn't been around quite as much lately, which should have been a relief, but to Lloyd it was just another thing to worry about. He had enough on his plate without having to constantly be wondering what his dad's next evil schemes were.

Like schoolwork. Lloyd sighed quietly as he glanced out toward his desk again, the mountain of stuff just seeming all that much bigger from his position here on the floor. 

Technically he should try to start some of those assignments before his mom got mad. Or he could finish those mission reports from weeks ago, his uncle had been nagging him about that. And then there was his room, and how untidy it had gotten, and how untidy he had gotten.

A soft groan escaped Lloyd's lips despite himself, and he buried his head in his hands again as he tried to ignore his pounding headache. He was so, so tired. So thirsty. And so hungry. 

When was the last time he'd eaten? Drank water? Slept? 

He couldn't even keep track of the days anymore, how was he supposed to keep track of all of the unhealthy habits that he'd been developing over these last few weeks?

Something wet dripped between Lloyd's fingers. As he pulled his hands away from his face to inspect them, he was surprised to realize that he was, in fact crying. 

Suddenly angry, he wiped away the tears gathering in his eyes, but it was no use. They just continued to fall, trailing down his cheeks and soaking into the fabric of his rumpled t-shirt. 

That was the last straw. Lloyd was so disgusted with himself, so angry, so upset, so overwhelmed by everything. He just broke down, clutching his backpack in an attempt to anchor himself to reality as he pulled his knees into his chest, body shaking and convulsing with heart wrenching, choking, silent sobs.

For a few moments all he knew was pain, blinding pain that coursed through him, threatening to tear him apart as he cried. All of his pent-up emotion, all of his pretending to be okay, all of the worries he'd been experiencing over the last few weeks, his insecurities, everything that he'd bottled up was finally coming out.

Several moments passed, though to Lloyd it felt much longer than that, and it seemed as if he would just be stuck here in this moment forever. He felt stuck, trapped, everything seemed to be falling apart around him, and he had no idea what to do, or how to dig himself out of this pit that he'd fallen into.

He was so lost in his own little world of grief and misery that he didn't hear the creak of his mattress signaling that someone else was awake, or hear the soft rustle of fabric as said person pulled away the blankets and got out of bed to sit down beside him on the floor.

The gentle hand suddenly placed on his arm startled Lloyd out of it though, and he looked up in surprise to see his girlfriend sitting there, her hair slightly messy and looking quite tired, but her expression extremely worried. "Lloyd honey, are you okay?" She murmured.

Normally her voice would have comforted Lloyd, calmed him down, but this time seeing her only caused fresh tears to fill his eyes as he was forced to confront another one of his current struggles, another one of the things that haunted him on a daily basis.

"I'm sorry, Lizzy! I'm so sorry!" He sobbed brokenly, more tears coursing down his cheeks despite his efforts to keep them from falling.

She blinked once, looking confused as she moved her hand from his arm to rub his back instead, trying in vain to calm him down. "What are you talking about? What's wrong?"

"It's all my fault!" Was all Lloyd could get out in his current state. He released his backpack, letting it tumble to the ground beside him as he reached one hand out to his girlfriend, his fingers tracing the barely-there bump partially hidden beneath her shirt by way of explanation.

Lizzy's eyes softened in understanding as she grabbed both of his hands, holding them tightly as she looked up at him. "Lloyd, we already talked about this. It isn't your fault, it was my parent's decision. I'm at peace with it now, and we'll figure things out, I promise."

"But it still doesn't change the fact that it's my fault that all of this has happened in the first place! If I weren't the son of an evil warlord, they wouldn't have kicked you out of your own home! It doesn't seem fair that you have to suffer just because you're associated with me!"

"I know, Lloyd," she murmured, her voice sad as she interlaced their fingers and gave his hands a gentle squeeze. 

"People are cruel. They make unfair assumptions, and judge without first stopping to even get to know the other person first, and treat some kids differently just because of who their parents are. That's just the way the world works, which is really sad.

But I don't care what they think, and I know you're not what they all say you are. You're nothing like your father, and anyone who actually knows you knows that too."

Lizzy smiled faintly as she gazed up at Lloyd for a moment, her sparkling hazel eyes meeting his emerald green ones.

"Let them think what they want to think, but don't ever give them a reason to hate you," she continued softly, her voice genuine and laced with care. "You never have, and I know you never will. You're a good person, Lloyd, despite what everyone says about you."

Lloyd blinked once in surprise, suddenly unable to form words as his throat tightened in gratitude. He squeezed his girlfriend's hands more tightly, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Thank you, Lizzy," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "Not just for this, but for everything you've done. For sticking beside me even when it cost you everything. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Lizzy nodded once, smiling a little more as she kissed Lloyd's cheek in return. "You don't have to thank me for doing what's right," she said quietly "And I'm not going to leave you anytime soon, I'm afraid that you're stuck with me from this point on. Both of us, actually."

She placed one of his hands on her stomach, keeping her own hand over his as she gazed up at her boyfriend with a look of mingled teasing and seriousness.

Lloyd's heartbeat quickened at her words, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips as he gently rubbed the small curve of her stomach with a thumb.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Lizzy hummed softly in approval, her eyes flickering with an emotion that he couldn't read. "Good. Now, I really do think that you should try to get some rest. We still have to get to school tomorrow, I have an appointment, your mom's getting ready for her business trip, and we still have ninja training. You won't be in good shape for any of those things if you don't sleep."

Lloyd sighed audibly, his shoulders slumping as she spoke. "I know, I just can't seem to sleep no matter how hard I try. There's too much going on, a lot to process through."

"I know," Lizzy replied, her voice soft as she reached up to brush away the last traces of tears gathering in Lloyd's eyes.

He'd stopped crying a bit ago, and now his breaths were smooth and even, his heart rate calming down, and the horrible ache in his chest fading away, replaced now by a sense of emptiness, and even a heavy exhaustion. She was right, he did need sleep.

A dry, emotionless chuckle escaped Lloyd's lips, quickly turning into a pained grimace. "I'm so tired," he mumbled, the words surprising him, but still true all the same.

Lizzy laughed softly, her hazel eyes catching the faint light from the street lamps outside and taking on the color of the ocean during a storm.

"I think you need to sleep, honey," she said, her voice laced with amusement as she placed a hand on his shoulder, using the leverage to pull herself to her feet.

"Don't leave me," Lloyd whined playfully as he grabbed one of Lizzy's hands, gripping it between his own.

She smiled and stepped closer to him, using her free hand to comb through his messy blonde hair as he tilted his head back to rest it against her, eyes fluttering closed at the soothing movements of her fingers.

"I'm not leaving you," she promised softly. "I just really need to get some sleep, we all do. Including Jayla. She's currently not kicking me in the bladder, so I would really like to take advantage of that and get some rest while I can."

Lloyd chuckled as she spoke, a pouty huff escaping his lips next. "You know, we never agreed on naming her that."

Lizzy hummed in an attempt to stifle her laughter. "Well, your mum wants to name her Kaylee, and so far you haven't come up with any other suggestions... so unless you can think of something else between now and when she decides to make her appearance, you're going to have to pick between those two."

He sighed in disappointment, knowing he was beaten. Jayla was a rather pretty name, and he did like the meaning.

"Fine. As long as I get to pick her middle name," he conceded.

"On one condition: you don't choose the name of a candy," was Lizzy's immediate response.

"I would not!" Lloyd protested, sounding highly offended by her words.

She raised an eyebrow, but it had little effect since he couldn't see it from his current position. "I have my doubts. I've heard you refer to her rather fondly as 'Starburst' on several occasions."

"I think it's cute!" He replied, annoyed to find himself blushing in embarrassment at his girlfriend's words. "And nicknames are a completely different thing than middle names."

Lizzy threw back her head and laughed, which should have annoyed Lloyd a whole lot more than it did, but for once he wasn't bothered by it, and instead just laughed along with her.

The laughter was much needed, and for a brief, happy moment, all was right in Lloyd's world. He felt light, carefree, and ready to face whatever challenges life threw at him.

As long as Lizzy was still at his side, he knew things would be okay in the end. They'd figure everything out, together. No matter what happened next, they'd still have their love for each other. Nothing could change that.

But unfortunately, his happiness was short-lived.