*15 years ago*

Cole's POV

I sit at my oakwood table, looking out of the window of my small cabin in the mountains. It's a modest cabin that I made myself. It's one large room that has everything I could ever need. There's a bed, table, two chairs, and storage areas for tools and anything else. I cook everything I hunt over a fire outside and live off of the land around me. It's peaceful.

"I might go on a walk today, or maybe I'll go mountain climbing. I'll see," I verbalize my thoughts, partially to make sure I still have a voice. I haven't talked to anyone else in decades, and the only time I did decades ago was when a group of hikers accidentally found my cabin after I didn't stop them with a landslide. I redirected them back towards civilization when they found it and acted like it was no big deal..

It's been centuries since I last saw anyone that I care about. I haven't looked for them though. I don't know if it's out of fear or out of being content how I am, but my isolation in the mountains has lasted for longer than I intended. It was initially just a place of refuge, but now it's home. Besides, none of my friends came here looking for me anyways.], so it's clear that they moved on too.

Standing up from my chair, I twist back and forth. My back cracks before I walk out of the door and into the wild. The breeze is gentle. It mingles with my hair that has grown out significantly since I've moved out here. Pulling it out of my face to make sure it doesn't get in the way, I tie my hair back before I start my climb up the mountain.

Being in the mountains makes me feel powerful. I'm so close to my element. Isolating myself from the rest of civilization has helped me create a deeper connection with it and become stronger. While I could only create a single mountain before, now I can create mountain ranges.

Propelling myself up the mountain by shooting the earth up underneath my feet, I quickly reach the peak. My eyes scan over as much of Ninjago that I can see. The miles surrounding the mountains are primarily forest, but in the distance, I can spot the beginnings of the Sea of Sand.

Using the power that's calling to me, I form a ledge out of the side of the mountain for me to sit down on. I make it flow with the rest of the mountain, so it looks natural. When I take a seat, I close my eyes and focus on the sounds around me. My own steady breathing can faintly be heard over the rustling of the bushes from the wildlife and the songs of the birds. The wind rattles the trees around me. Some of the leaves land in my hair, but I don't mind.

I'm pulled out of the peace when my right quad starts to sting. Even though I attempt to ignore it, it continues to grow until it starts to significantly annoy me. When I look down, nothing is on my shorts. I move them out of the way to reveal that the stinging is only happening where my tattoo is. I rub it to try to ease the pain, but it keeps hurting.

Every human in this realm is born with a tattoo. Initially, no one knew what they meant, but it was figured out that the tattoos come in pairs. For each person, there's another who has the same tattoo on the other side of their body, their soulmate.

Because two soulmates can be born in completely different lifetimes and across the realm, it's nearly impossible to find your soulmate. Only a handful of people have ever found their soulmates, and the only reason was because they were elemental masters that could live across multiple lifetimes. They had extra time to find their partner.

When the public found out about the deeper meaning behind the tattoos, many refused to get into relationships unless it was their soulmate. This caused the population to lessen, so the royal family announced that the "soulmate theory" was wrong, and things went back to normal. However, some of us that have been around long enough remember the truth. We've watched, or felt, the soulmate tattoos in action.

I look down at the rhino marked on my leg and sigh. This has never happened before, this stinging, and I don't know what to do.

"I'll just try to nap it off," I lean backwards and fold my arms behind my head as a cushion. However, as soon as I close my eyes, a loud, shrill scream fills my ears. My eyes shoot open, and I immediately start running to the sound of the noise. I've never found anything in these mountains that I can't scare off, especially if they're being a threat to someone.

I let the earth help my efforts, sending myself flying through the air with the help of rocks. Once I reach the edge of the mountain, I look down onto a plateau below me. There, a little girl in an elaborate dress is surrounded by a pack of wolves. They snarl at her as she shakes, tears streaming down her face.

It takes me less than a second to jump down. The earth shakes at my landing, the little girl getting knocked off of her feet. One of the wolves uses this opportunity to lunge at her, ripping part of her dress as it digs its teeth into one of her legs. She lets out a scream that could shatter glass.

I charge towards them, knocking the rest of the pack out of the way before I pry the wolf's jaw open, releasing the girl's leg. When the wolf attempts to snap at me, I toss it back to its pack. Then, kneeling down, I place my fists on the ground. The ground shakes, and soon, there's a wall of rock about 30 feet tall separating us and the wolves. The wolves paw and scratch at the other side, but they can't get through.

I immediately turn back around to the little girl who is sobbing. Her body is shaking as she bawls. Her brown, wavy hair falls in front of her face, forming a curtain between us.

"You're okay now," I comfort her, approaching her slowly in an attempt to not scare her.

"I-it hurts," she cries. I kneel down next to her.

"I have stuff that can clean it off, but it's back at my house. Are your parents around?" I talk to her calmly in an attempt to soothe her. My heart aches for her. To try to stop the bleeding, I pick up a piece of ripped fabric and wrap it around her left leg that is covered in blood.

She shakes her head. "I can't find my daddy."

"Were you looking for him?" I ask her. She nods. "I have an idea. We can clean you up, and then we'll find your daddy. Do you like that?" She nods again, her head of hair bouncing. She pulls her hair back behind her ears, revealing her steel grey eyes. "Can I carry you back?"

When she nods again, I scoop her up and hold her bridal style since it'll be easiest on her leg. Then, I create a set of stairs up the side of the mountain to make it easier to get up.

"You have powers?" she asks me softly, her tears starting to die down even though she's still in pain.

"Yeah, the earth is my friend. It helps me when I need it. What's your name?"

"Seliel. I'm three," she informs me, sticking up 3 fingers.

"Wanna know something cool? It's been 796 years since I've been 3," I tell her, and I see a look of amazement cross her little face.

"You're old!"

"Next year is my 800th birthday, so I'd agree with you."

"Are you having a party?" she asks me. I shake my head. Our talk seems to be distracting her enough.

"I live alone."

"Invite the earth. They're your friend," she suggests, making me laugh a little bit.

"That's a good suggestion," I tell her. Soon, she starts telling me about how she lost her dad. She saw some flowers that she liked when she was supposed to be napping, so she snuck off to get them. She saw more flowers after that, so she picked them too. When she got back, her father was gone.

"Why were you travelling through the mountains anyways? They're very dangerous," I ask her. These mountain ranges are filled with animals that are very dangerous for non-elementals. For most, entering here is a death sentence.

"I got a baby cousin. She's little," she informs me.

"Does she live in the mountains?" I ask, confused. I take a long lunge, leading with my right leg, and realize that the stinging has gone away.

"No, in...ummm," she forgets the name. "Her name is Vania."

"That's a cool name," I tell her as I walk up to my cabin. After I opened the door, I set her down on the bed. I quickly go get the supplies.

"What's your name?"

"Just call me Earth," I say, not necessarily wanting people to know that I'm still alive.

"You can't steal your friend's name," she crosses her arms.

"Bad people will want to get me if they know I'm here. They don't like me," I tell her, pulling out some disinfectant.

"I won't tell anyone. Pinkie promise!" she lifts up her little pinkie.

"Sorry Seliel, but I just can't," I walk over to her with the supplies. I untie the piece of fabric that I tied around the wound, causing her to yelp. Now, the blood has dried onto her left leg.

"It hurts."

"I'm sorry. I'll try to be gentle," I wet down a piece of cloth with water. Lightly, I try to wipe off the blood. However, something appears to be under the blood. Once I realize what it is, the cloth slips out of my hand, and my jaw drops. I look at the little girl before me.

"Do you like him? He's a rhino," she points at the tattoo on her left quad that is identical to mine.

"There's no way," I look at the rhino on her left quad before looking at the one on my right. They're identical.

"Twins!" she points at mine. "What is yours named? Mine is Chen. That's my super duper Great Grandpa's name."

Hearing that name again takes me off guard. It's been centuries since I heard the former king's name, the one that gave my team and I the death penalty.

"Wait Seliel, are you a princess?"

"Mmmhmm, so is Vania," she tells me. My head spins. I close my eyes. Of course I'd find my soulmate, who happens to be a princess from the kingdom that wants me dead, when she's a toddler. "Earth," she pokes me in the cheek, making me open my eyes. "Smile."

I give her a small smile as I pick back up the rag. I try to recompose myself. My tattoo stinging makes sense now. It was telling me that she was near. I start cleaning off her leg again.

"My rhino doesn't have a name," I tell her. "Maybe I'll name it Seliel."

Her smile is giant now even though she's in pain. "Yay! Thank you." Her excitement warms my heart. However, when I start to use the disinfectant, she starts to yelp. I immediately pull back before scrubbing a bit softer.

"Hey Seliel, do you want to make a deal?"

"Sure," she looks up at me.

"If you don't tell your daddy about me, I'll come visit you when you're a bit older," I tell her, and her eyes immediately widen.

"Yay! Come to my birthday party. There's cake," she suggests, making me smile a bit.

"While I do love cake, I meant when you're older older, like when you're an adult."

"But that's soooo long," she whines, folding her arms. "I want all my friends at my parties."

"I'm your friend?"

"Of course silly. You saved me from the scary dogs."

A/N: Surprise! Here's a story that I've been working on during my time off. I'm going to post a chapter every Friday. I'm trying to get a sturdy schedule.

I'm back! I know I haven't posted anything substantial since February (not including the Unanimity alternate ending), but I'm going to try to change that. I'm excited for this story!

Before anyone asks, I AM NOT discontinuing Unscripted. I'm going to write both simultaneously. They're both very distinct, so I'll just write on whichever one I'm feeling more down to write.

Thoughts on this? 

It'll take all of my restraint not to mass publish all of the chapters I have written, but I need to refrain to have a good backup stash and to maintain a schedule. 

FYI, the little message I posted on my profile was today's date since I'm posting this today.

Thank you all! I hope you enjoy!