Note: I'm really, really sorry it's been so long since I updated this. I had been on spring break the week before, and with yesterday being a holiday, I was busy and couldn't post at the usual time! And it's pretty much for nothing, since this chapter is kind of filler and not really interesting. I've just got to move the story along a bit with this one. But next chapter I guarantee will be at least a bit more interesting.

Also, I realized my explanation for the Serpent Kingdom being called that is just Nya saying it's "the shape of its border" a bunch of chapters ago, which isn't really ideal. But there is a part of Ninjago, at least on the map that I found, that looks like a head, and there's even a lake that looks like the eye! So I traced out the border on that. It's like a really, really rough drawing so um don't judge okay I promise I have better art skills than that. But the picture is above. Yellow line is the border, black is the path our characters plan to take to the city. 

As each day of travel slowly passed, Nya could tell that everyone was getting more restless. She had been excited to see other villages, but now she saw that they were almost all the same. Most were smaller than her own village, a similar size to Ignacia. But no matter how small the population, there was almost always someone who came to see her. Sometimes someone had heard she was coming, and groups of people came to meet them as soon as the carriage rolled into town. Other times they'd knock on the door of a house or inn for shelter, and when Nya would explain who she was, someone would smile and ask her to do a reading on themselves, their child, or someone else they knew. The first reading she did on the trip, Nya could hardly hide the worry that breaking her vows had left her powerless. But everything seemed to go as normal–sometimes the clients left pleased, and sometimes crying. At least Nya hadn't forgotten how to deal with such situations with the tumult of her recent life.

The boys, meanwhile, had little to do. They took turns driving–in pairs. While Nya talked to clients, they took turns taking watch–in pairs. When they needed it, they took turns going for supplies–in pairs. And it bothered Nya. Instead of befriending each other, they all seemed to stay with their one friend. And she could tell they were all getting irritable. Who knew how long it'd be before some sort of argument broke out? She certainly knew what the sides would be. And what could she do if she was the only one in the middle?

The journey was taking a long time not only because of the frequent stops, but because of the curving, zigzagging path they were taking as a precaution. But finally, one night, Cole said they were nearing the border. The weather had finally turned warm a few days before, and everyone was glad. The next morning, they got up quickly and were outside the inn they'd been staying at to pack up. Nya sent Kai and Zane to get supplies, and the others were left to pack up the carriage. They had taken to bringing most of their belongings in with them at night, because Cole said that the people out here were less trustworthy than back home.

"I'll go get the horses." Cole said then. "I think you two can handle the packing." He raised his eyebrows at them, and left. He often tried to leave them alone, but he could only manage it when Kai wasn't around, which wasn't often as he didn't like to leave Nya's side.

Jay and Nya finished packing up the rest of the things, leaving space for the food parcels. Then they sat inside the carriage, not sure what else to do. It seemed like forever since they had actually spoken, the way they had when they used to talk alone.

Several days before, they had built a small table to go in the middle of the carriage, between the back-facing bench and the front-facing one. Jay reached across it and took Nya's hand gently, watching her to see her reaction.

"So. How are you?" He finally asked. "Look, I know that sounds weird since we've been together this whole time, but you've never really told me."

"I know. It's weird." She shook her head. "But I'm . . . fine. I don't know. Maybe I'm not ready."

He leaned closer, so his elbow was on the table and their wrists touched, fingers lacing together. "I believe in you. We can do this. For the better of the kingdom."

"Right." She smiled. He always made her smile. "Thanks."

"What are you doing?" Kai appeared in the open doorway of the carriage. They hadn't heard him approach with Zane, who now appeared next to him.

"Um, arm wrestling." Nya pushed Jay's arm sideways onto the table.

"Ow!" He yelped, and Nya winced. At least it kept him from saying the wrong thing . . .

"Don't let her win just because she's such an 'important lady'." Kai stepped into the carriage. "I'll show her real competition. We used to do this when we were kids."

Nya could hardly believe he'd been so fooled, but she let him wrestle with her, and after a long struggle, won.

Kai smiled sheepishly at Jay. "I guess she has gotten stronger."

"Well, how about loser against loser?" Jay suggested.

"Why don't we pack up the food first?" Said Zane, who was still holding most of the packages. By the time they had stowed them safely away, Cole had finally returned with the horses. He hitched them up, and for the first time, Zane went to join him in the drivers' seat. Kai latched the door and moved to the seat next to Nya, and as the carriage started to move, he clasped hands with Jay.

After that, arm wrestling was what entertained them for long hours inside the carriage. All of them but Cole were somewhat evenly matched. He of course was stronger than everyone because of his army training. They didn't care, of course; they still tried to beat him. It put them all in good spirits, at least until the carriage halted in the very last town.

The town was more of a tiny outpost, and it was so small that it only had one main street, so short that you could see right down it and into the barren land beyond. And when they got out of the carriage they could just make out that beyond that, likely multiple miles away, stood a looming stone wall in the distance.

"That's the wall." Cole said, somewhat unnecessarily. "Are you guys sure you want to do this?"

They all nodded.

"Yes." Nya said. "We have to."

Cole nodded. "Okay. I only hope they're still here."