Antalia sprinted quietly after the people. From roof to roof and over clotheslines. But when she saw that the green ninja was dangling from a ladder on the opposite wall of the house, she picked up the pace again. "How did he do that?! As a ninja, he should be able to jump over a few roofs," she cursed to herself and swung herself over a clothesline onto the roof of the house. The person with the green cloak, under which Harumi was probably hiding, had already grabbed the ninja's hand, not a second too soon, because the ladder had just broken off and was now rattling down into the depths. But Harumi was nowhere near strong enough to pull the ninja onto the roof of the house and so he was still dangling over the canyon of houses.A large amount of effort came from the younger of the princesses and just as the ninja started to slip and Harumi threatened to lose his grip on his hand, Antalia grabbed it and pulled the ninja onto the safety of the roof. 

  "Shadow Warrior!", the younger princess called and pulled off her hood. "Princess?!", the green ninja asked her, confused. "I thought you were kidnapped. I wanted to save you," he confessed and looked at the floor, embarrassed. "From the looks of things, I probably saved you," Antalia now intervened, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Yes, thank you. For that and for protecting Ninjago over the last few months," the ninja admitted. "No problem. Ninjago is my home too," said Antalia. "Should I take you home?" Antalia turned to her sister. "No, thank you. Everything is fine. I'll come back in later. And the green ninja can help me with that, right?" Harumi asked with a suggestive smile at the ninja, whereupon he blushed. "Fine. Then have your fun," Antalia replied shortly. She wasn't sure where the pulling in her chest was coming from, but she tried to ignore it. With these words she jumped off the roof into the darkness of the city.

~

Exhausted, Antalia returned to her balcony a few hours later. She peeled off her combat suit and put on leggings and an oversized hoodie, then fell onto her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

Three hours later, she was torn from her dreamless but restful sleep by the sounds of 'This is the life'. Annoyed, she looked at her alarm clock. 6:30. Grumbling, Antalia got out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. She turned her shower on cold and revived her spirits. After the shower, she put on one of her dresses, brushed her teeth and had her maid do her makeup and hair. And as so often, she didn't think the makeup was so bad because it covered up the dark circles under her eyes.

   She entered the dining room and sat down next to her sister at the imperial table. She avoided the emperor's gaze the whole time. When the family had finished, the emperor spoke up. "Last night, Hutchins told us, Harumi sneaked out of the palace." The princesses froze. The younger of the two turned chalk white under her makeup and then finally pink. "Why?" asked the emperor. "I... I wanted to go for a walk," Harumi stammered. "With a ninja?!" thundered the emperor. His wife put a reassuring hand on his forearm and looked at her younger daughter. "You have to understand, darling, you are a princess. You can't hang out with just anyone, especially not outside the palace walls where everyone can see you. It's too dangerous for you and our family's reputation," she tried to explain calmly. "And above all, you should not be with a ninja! They are warriors, we are the nobility. Where the ninja are, there is danger. They are far below us. Remember that, daughter, you are a princess! So behave like one and surround yourself with the right people. Harumi nodded, "Yes, father. May I go?" The emperor exhaled audibly and sat back in his chair. "Yes." Harumi stood up and hurried out of the dining room, on the verge of tears. "May I go too?" Antalia asked stiffly. The emperor nodded, "Yes." The princess took her napkin from her lap and laid it folded on the table. Then she too walked towards the large double doors. Just before she reached them, the emperor called her name again. She looked over her shoulder at him and he looked at her with nothing but warmth in his eyes. "I don't want you to be angry with me any longer. I understand your anger, but I also want you to know the reason for my actions. You are my daughter and I love you. I only want the best for you." In silence, Antalia turned back to the door and left the dining room.

She was sitting on the library balcony overlooking the training grounds. A book about the origins of Ninjago lay in her lap, but she had long since drifted away from it and was subconsciously watching the ninja training. She thought about her father's words, if only she had known that in a few hours she would wish she had told him how much he meant to her.