"Just put the damn apple on your head!" I snort into the palm of my hand at Maddy's outburst, watching the woman hold out a red apple towards her sister who only scoffs before harshly ripping the fruit from out of her hand, "Thank you!"

"Whatever," Jade retorts with a huff, "Just know that if you hit me, I'm going to hit you right back." I watch the scene unfold in front of me with amused eyes from the stone steps of the training course, the chilling wind whipping past my cheeks, leaving a slight sting.

Most of the days consisted of mild training now that there was no immediate danger threatening Ninjago. The most action us ninja got were a few robberies when some lowlives got gutsy. I didn't mind the silence and loss of action, it was almost refreshing to take things at my own pace. For once, we all got to have sleep-ins and personal time with each other without stress piling up on our shoulders.

"Hey, Alyssa!" I blink for a second, snapping out of my daydream to see Maddy grin towards me, waving her bow around, "You hearing this? Jade thinks I'm rusty!" She turns her blue eyes to her sister, raising the golden dragon carved bow up to her sight and pulling the empty string back, "Put the apple on your head, Jade!"

Jade growls lowly but complies, putting the apple on the centre of her brunette head. Crossing her arms tightly over her chest, she glares heatedly back at her sister who stood a good few feet away from her. "Just get this over with already, I look stupid."

A bright yellow glow burns brightly between the pulled back string of the bow and if you were to blink, you would have missed how the glow takes shape of a sharp gold coloured arrow. I watch as Maddy inhales slowly and just as she lets a breath out, she releases the arrow. It wizzes through the air at breakneck speed and impales the apple from Jade's head before getting stuck in the wall behind the girl.

Jade shudders and takes a quick step away from the burning arrow, and I watch with amazement as it dissolves into golden sparkles. The apple drops to the ground and splits perfectly in half like it had been cut expertly with a knife. "I'm never doing that again."

Grinning, I raise from the steps and give Maddy a clap for her performance. I feel like a proud parent, watching their child learn how to walk for the first time. "Very nice! It's crazy to think how you nearly shot Kai that one time when you shoot like that."

"Sometimes I wish I didn't miss." Maddy sighs with a pout, walking over to neatly place her bow on the weapons rack in the corner of the courtyard.

Jade snaps her head in the direction of the girl with a raised eyebrow, "Hey, watch it! That's my man you're talking about." She stands up from where she was kneeling, the two parts of the apple in her hand. She looks down at it with a thoughtful frown, "Five seconds rule?"

"Gross!" Maddy shrieks, going over to her as the other woman goes to take a bite out of the apple. They proceed to argue over wether the five second rule actually meant germs couldn't touch food or not.

I shake my head at their bickering, hands rested on my hips. I should of seen this coming. While they were distracted, I turned to head inside the Monastery but stopped short when I nearly bumped straight into Kat. "Shit, sorry. I didn't hear you come out, which is a first."

Damn, was I getting rusty or was she just getting better at sneaking up on people? Either way, I really need to keep my senses up. Don't want to accidentally punch someone in the nose if they tried to sneak up on me, accident or not.

"It's okay, I actually came out here to find you." She smiles up at me, a teasing glint sparking in her brown eyes, "I wanted to know if you wanted to train with me for a bit. I need to make my illusions more realistic and I want you to be my guinea pig."

I roll my head to the side, nibbling at the inside of my cheek. I'd usually take up the offer to help my team perfect their abilities, but knowing the time by the rise of the sun, I knew I had somewhere else to be. Sighing through my nose, I send Kat a small grimace, "I'd love to, but I actually have something to do, sorry."

I watch her face fall for a split second before she bounces back with a shake of her head, "No, no! That's fine, we can just do it another time!" I nod at her words and go to step around her to get my phone from my room when she suddenly grips my wrist, stopping my movements. I curiously glance back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Since I have nothing better to do, how about I help you?"

I laugh nervously and gently shake off her hand, "Kat, I'm sure you can find a better use of your time. Besides, I'm going into the city for a bit, I need to refill my candy stock since Lloyd ransacked it." Half the truth is better than nothing, I suppose. I did need to get more sweets because of Lloyd, but I was doing that later on in the day.

"I'll come with then! I actually wanted to go to the library and find something new to read." She persists with an eager grin, and somehow at the mention of a library, the twins had heard the magic word and stepped towards us.

"Someone say library?" Jade looks between Kat and myself, a half eaten apple piece in her hand, "I'm coming too! There's always a need to fill my bookshelf." She takes a bite out of the fruit, chewing silently.

Maddy rolls her eyes and elbows her sister, "Forget the books, I'll only join since I know there's an arcade nearby the library! Count me in!" She bounces on the balls of her feet, rocking backwards and forwards.

"Guys, wait—" I try to step in to gently shut them down, my hands raising when Jade shoots Maddy a narrowed eyed glare.

"Well, I'm sure Emilie wants to get some books with us, you can go to the arcade by yourself." She huffs, finishing the apple with one last bite and shoving the core into my open and raised hand.

I glance from the apple core to Jade, my eyebrows furrowing as my mouth opens and closes, trying to form words except I'm once again interrupted, this time by Maddy as she shrugs her shoulders.

"That's fine, I bet Nya would enjoy a trip to the arcade with me. Maybe her and I can beat Jay's high score on the Dance Machine!"

"You guys aren't listening to me-"

"Did I hear Dance Machine?" Nya comes up from behind me, grey eyes drifting from my baffled and annoyed expression to the rest of the group that was only getting bigger.

"Forget the Dance Machine, bring me the books!" Emilie barges her way past me, harshly knocking my shoulder as she wraps her arms around Kat and Jade, the brunette grinning wildly.

"Guys!" I shout, finally getting my voice through to the group surrounding me. I look from one person to the next, my annoyance clear as day, the apple in my palm bursting into flames and crumbling to dust from the immense heat, "I'm not going to the city, for crying out loud! If you had let me finish before all of you rudely interrupted, I would have been able to calm this situation down before it even became a situation!" I snap, eyes sharp as my breathing finally begins to slow down.

"Wait, you lied?" Kat tilts her head up to me, brushing Emilie's arm off her shoulder with a frown. "If you're not going to the city, where are you going? Why's it so important that you had to lie?"

"No books?" Jade mutters under her breath, which in return gets a few glares from the girls around her. "Sorry, sorry." She clears her throat and rolls her wrist towards me, "Go on, you were saying?"

I groan and throw my head back, nearly knocking foreheads with Nya. I hated lying, it never got anyone anywhere good. I was always honest with the team, honest about my feelings and feedback if they ever needed it, but this situation was different. The next words I spill could make or break this family, and yet I knew this day was coming. I couldn't have hid it forever, and I didn't want to hide it forever.

I wasn't ashamed, not at all. For once, I was frightened. Frightened of their expressions, their reactions. I was scared for so many reason that I couldn't even begin to tell anyone as they didn't know what I was scared for. If there was anytime to come clean and finally release this secret that's been weighing me down for three years, it was now.

Swallowing even though my mouth was as dry as the Sea of Sand, I clenched my hands into tight fists and held back my frustrated tears. "What I'm about to say isn't easy, and I don't want to say it here. Can we..." I gesture to the gate of the Monastery, away from the prying ears of anyone inside.

The group of girls around me send each other curious glances and reluctantly agree. We move away from the doorway and walk across the courtyard in silence, me behind the pack. This was it, I was finally going to break. I looked up to the girls, studying their faces and came to the conclusion that if I were to tell anyone first, it would be them.

Inhaling shakily, I raise my chin and stare into their eyes. My prideful expression wavers, lips shaking as the words get stuck in my throat. A gentle hand wraps around my forearm and I meet grey eyes and Nya's gentle smile. "Go on. This is the first time you've ever looked like...this." Her eyes scan my subtly shivering form, her grip tightening, "But we're hear to listen, this is a judgment free zone."

"Right, sorry. Thank you." I raise my hand and lay it over hers, squeeze her fingers in gratitude. Closing my eyes, I calm my swimming mind before blurting out, "I was going to see my son."