here's the prologue! hope you all enjoy the first part of this story and getting to meet some of the main characters! for those of you who have read the original version of this prologue, you may recognize that i've changed the name of one of the characters (you'll know who i'm talking about once you start reading), and i don't want you to be alarmed or confused, i just wanted to keep things more consistent with the canon stuff after i watched some of the later seasons.

trigger warnings: main character death, mentions of cancer, implied neglect/abandonment, kind of depressing vibes all throughout the whole thing

words: 3,267

prologue : a bond unbroken by tragedy

Lilly Brookstone sat with her two children on the grass outside their small home. The summer's sun was shining softly on the three of them as they sat together, laughing amongst themselves. Her son Cole was pointing out the different flowers that were growing around them, while his baby sister Lyla was sitting in their mother's lap, watching him with a smile.

Their father was away for the week, touring with his singing group, The Royal Blacksmiths. Any day now he would be back with his family, but for now the Brookstone children had their mother all to themselves. Cole looked almost exactly like his father, he had the same black hair and chocolate brown eyes, while Lyla had crystal blue eyes and golden blonde hair. Lilly loved them both so much.

Though she missed Lou and was looking forward to his return, she was grateful for this chance to spend some time alone with her children. They were growing up so fast, and she knew that she wouldn't always be here to take care of them. A few years after Cole's birth she had been diagnosed with cancer, and though it wasn't life-threatening she knew that there was a possibility that one day she would have to say goodbye.

She'd given up her life as the elemental master of earth a long time ago, choosing to settle down and have a family. Though she sometimes missed her previous life, she didn't regret her decision. She loved both of her children, and they had a strong bond, one that seemed impossible that it could ever be broken. Lou spent time with his singing group occasionally, but it didn't interfere with his family life too much.

Everything seemed perfect right now. Both in life, and in the moment. Cole was picking daisies and putting them in Lilly's hair, and she was trying to keep them away from Lyla. She made flower crowns for both of them, laughing at the different expressions on their faces. Cole was laughing too, and Lyla was trying to imitate her older brother. Lilly pulled them both in for a gentle hug, a huge smile on her face.

Lyla skipped alongside her older brother Cole as they walked ahead of their father on the path. They were on the way to visit their mother in the hospital, and she was eager to see her again. Cole was trying to keep up with Lyla's cheerful skipping, an amused smile on his face. When she spotted some beautiful daisies beside the path she stopped, kneeling down to gently pick a few of them. Her brother helped her.

Lou followed behind his children at a slower face, his shoulders drooping as if he carried a great weight on his back. A frown was on his face, and his dark brown eyes were full of sadness. Cole and Lyla didn't understand, but this was likely the last day that they would see their mother. Only a week ago the cancer had suddenly become worse, and now Lilly was dying. The doctors estimated that she only had a few days left.

He couldn't imagine life without her, his beloved wife. Lilly had always been a rock for him. She cared more about others than about herself, often hiding her own emotions as she did her best to help them. She was kind and gentle, and she was a wonderful wife to him and a wonderful mother to their two children. He didn't want her to go, he loved her so much. Without Lilly, everything would change.

Completely unaware of their father's internal torment, Cole and Lyla picked several flowers to give to their mother. After a glance behind them to make sure that their father was still coming, they kept going. They'd make this trip many times over the last week, and they knew the way to the hospital. Lyla asked Cole for a piggyback ride once her legs got tired, and he hoisted her up and onto his back with a smile.

Lyla giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on as they continued their walk to the hospital. Cole carried her there, while their father continued to follow them at a slower pace. Once they got to the hospital they came into Lilly's room, where she was laying on the bed with her eyes closed. Cole carefully set his sister down, and their mother smiled a little and opened her eyes, greeting them softly.

They handed her the flowers they'd brought, and her eyes glistened with tears as she thanked them both, kissing each of their foreheads. She told them that she loved them both so much, and that she was sorry that she had to leave them. She told them that they had so much potential, and that she knew they were going to do great things one day. That she loved them both and believed in them.

Then she gave them both a final hug, holding them close. Realizing what was happening, Cole and Lyla hugged her tightly, crying. Lou was crying too as he joined the hug, wrapping his arms around all of them. Tears slipped down Lilly's cheeks as she hugged them back, lingering in the hug. The four of them stayed together like that for a long time, locked in their embrace as they said their final goodbyes.

Cole held Lyla in his arms as they watched several men from their village bury their mother's casket. Lou stood close beside them with a hand on Cole's shoulder, tears running down his face. Lyla sniffled and buried her face in her brother's shirt, clinging to him. Cole's body was shaking with sobs as he held his sister tightly. Most of the people in the small group gathered there were crying.

Lyla was too young to really understand completely what had happened. She just knew that her mother was gone, and that she wasn't coming back. She was scared and confused, and wanted her mother back more than anything in the world right now. She clung to Cole, seeking comfort in his embrace. They two of them had always had a very close relationship, and he reminded her a lot of their mother.

Lou had been heartbroken when Lilly died. He didn't know if he could go on in life without her. He hadn't sung since before she had ended up in the hospital, and he hardly ever smiled. He hadn't been sleeping well which, caused him to feel even worse than he did already, and without even realizing it he had begun to distance himself from Cole and Lyla. They reminded him too much of Lilly, and the life they had had before.

After they finished burying Lilly, Cole walked over to her grave. He was still carrying Lyla, who was holding the flowers they'd brought. A simple bouquet of daisies and wildflowers that they had picked themselves. Cole gently set Lyla down by the gravestone, his eyes filling with fresh tears as he noticed her name on the stone that had been placed there. His sister carefully placed the bouquet on the freshly smoothed dirt.

As he looked around at the small crowd gathered there, for a moment Cole noticed someone standing at the edge of the group. It was a wise-looking old man with white robes, a hat, and a long white beard. He looked at Cole and nodded once, then turned and began to walk away. Lyla came back to Cole and he picked her up once more, holding her close. By the time he looked back again, the old man was gone.

A year passed after Lilly's death. On the anniversary of that day, Lou was distant and sad. He spent a lot of the day away from the house, saying he'd be back later. Cole and Lyla found things to do to amuse themselves, and distract them from thinking about their mother. They hung out at the house together, picked flowers, and went for a walk later on in the day. Everything went okay, for the most part.

Cole felt sad and alone, and he missed his mother very much. But he bottled up his feelings, putting on a cheerful smile for Lyla and being there for her throughout the day. He kept the house running with her help, and even made a small dinner for them. Lou missed dinner and he didn't come home until later that evening. He appeared sad and worn out, but something was different. He was singing again.

He simply apologized for missing dinner and said he'd been up to some important things, like getting his singing group back together. They hadn't sung since before Lilly died. As Lou talked he appeared happy, the sadness almost completely gone. He didn't seem to care about his wife's death, or even the kids, which angered Cole. He'd been alone with Lyla almost the whole day, while Lou was out with his singing group.

Cole wanted to yell at his father, and ask him why he didn't care about Lilly's death. But he didn't. Instead he nodded along with what Lou said, putting on a smile but speaking as little as possible. He helped get Lyla to bed, then went to his own room and tried to sleep. He tossed and turned, the tears falling fast and hot onto his pillow. He felt as if his heart was being torn apart from the pain of missing his mother.

For a long time Cole just laid there, sobbing quietly. He felt so alone, and wished that his father would care. Not just about Lilly's death, but about him and Lyla too. They needed him. More time passed, and as Cole's sobs started to get quieter, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up, expecting to see his father. But it was Lyla that was standing there, looking up at him with wide eyes.

She said she'd heard him crying, and said that it made her sad too. Cole started to apologize, feeling like an awful older brother for letting her hear him cry, but Lyla shook her head. She said that it was okay to cry, and that she wasn't upset with him. Before he could protest she'd climbed up into the bed and was starting to pull his blankets up to cover him as she began to sing one of the songs their mother used to sing.

Though she was young and couldn't quite get the tune right, the familiar words comforted Cole. A few more tears fell, but he was strangely calm. He thanked Lyla and gave her a gentle hug. He didn't know what he did to deserve such a sweet, kind sister as her. Cole asked if she wanted to sleep in his bed tonight, and Lyla said yes. So he tucked her in beside him and laid down again, soon falling asleep.

In the morning when Cole woke up, Lyla was snuggled against him. That brought back memories of sleeping in bed with Evelyn when he had a nightmare. Cole smiled a little and gently wrapped an arm around Lyla. He had promised his mother that he was going to look out for her, and he planned to keep that promise. They didn't have much, but they had each other. That was all that mattered now.

Lyla sat at the kitchen table with her schoolwork, while Cole worked on dinner close by. He was supposed to be helping her, but instead of asking him questions she was chattering about random things. He listened to her talk about her plans for the day while he cut vegetables to eat with their bread and meat. A small smile appeared on his face as he listened to Lyla, adding in his own opinion every now and then.

Lou was off on another one of his trips with The Royal Blacksmiths, and he'd been gone for almost a week. It would be a while until he came back home. So Cole and Lyla were left alone at the house, taking care of themselves and keeping things running. In the years following Lilly's death, that was almost a normal occurrence for the Brookstone children. But they were pretty much used to it now.

Cole and Lyla went to school a few days a week, and worked on their homework together once they finished their after school chores. Cole usually helped Lyla while he made dinner, then did his own schoolwork after she went to bed. He stayed up for hours finishing it, often sleeping very little because he had gotten stuck on something. Occasionally he asked the teacher for help, but he usually did it himself.

On the rare occasions when Lou was home and he wasn't busy or worn out, if he was in the right mood Cole would ask him for help. But he was getting older now, and his relationship with his father wasn't as stable as it used to be. Cole didn't ask his father for help with a lot of things, preferring to do them himself. It helped him to help Lyla better though, and he was grateful for that. She needed him.

They were closer than most siblings, because they had spent so much time together and looked out for each other. Cole didn't know what he would do without his sister. Lyla was one of the only things that kept him going, and gave him someone to love and care for. She reminded him a lot of their mother in some ways, and she'd always been there for him even when no one else was.

Lyla was now in the middle of a math problem that she'd been working on for a while, and getting frustrated because she was stuck on it. Cole was trying to cheer her up by changing the question up by substituting some of the words to make it funnier. It worked, and now Lyla was laughing, in between giggles asking him when in life she would ever need to divide groups of dragons and watermelons.

He just smiled and shook his head, then told her very seriously that watermelon counting was a good job that you could earn a lot of money doing. That only made her laugh more, and Cole found himself laughing along with her. He had to put the knife he was using down so he wouldn't cut himself in the middle of his laughing fit. Then Lyla was giggling and getting up from her chair to tackle him in a hug.

Cole grinned and hugged Lyla back, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She was almost as tall as he was now, she'd been growing a lot recently. A sad thought crossed Cole's mind, as he realized that they were both getting older now. One day they would both be adults, and have to find their own place in the world. When that time came, he knew that things might be even more difficult than they were now.

Many years had passed since Lilly's death. Cole and Lyla were both older now, and their days of dividing dragons and watermelons had long passed. They didn't spend as much time playing and wrestling together, or goofing around. They were both busy with their studies and various activities, as well as keeping the house running smoothly. Their father was rarely home, which was very difficult for both of them.

Cole was practically a young man now. He was tall, and strong from his years of work at their home, as well as the rock climbing that he had begun to enjoy. Lyla was almost as old as he was, but in Cole's eyes she would always be his little sister. She had become good at doing the small housekeeping jobs around the house, and she loved music. She was smart and strong, and usually very cheerful.

They had both settled into somewhat of a consistent life with their school and chores. Their old cottage was getting more run down, but they didn't care. Between the two of them they kept it looking nice and in good shape. It gave them something to work on, and it reminded them of Evelyn and the life that they had had before. But suddenly, their lives were turned upside down.

Lou came home one day after a trip with his singing group, bringing with him pamphlets for a place called the Marty Oppenheimer School Of Performing Arts. He told Cole and Lyla to take a look at them, saying that was the place where he had learned everything he did, and where he had met Lilly. They both read them, and said that it looked nice. They didn't realize that he was thinking of sending them there.

The next morning he said that he'd sent an application for them, and that they would be starting next week. Cole and Lyla were both shocked. They quickly protested, saying that they didn't want to leave and that there would be no one to take care of the house while they were gone. Lou said that he'd been planning to sell the house and move to Ninjago City for a long time.

He'd just been waiting until they were both old enough to go to the Marty Oppenheimer school. He said he knew that they both had musical abilities, and that they would both do well there. He said that he realized what an absent parent he'd been since their mother's death, and he wanted to make up for it in some way. Some changes would be good for them, and maybe they'd make some friends.

That night as Lyla tried to sleep, she tossed and turned in her bed as she listened to Cole and her father arguing. There was some shouting, and a lot of disagreement between the two. Lou was convinced that this was the best thing he could do for them, while Cole and Lyla both strongly did not want to go. But it was too late, and things had been set in motion that they couldn't undo.

Before they hardly realized what was happening, the day came when they had to pack their bags, and say goodbye to the place that they had lived all their life. Lou had found someone who was willing to buy their house, and he would be moving everything over to their new house in Ninjago City shortly after they got to school. He said that everything was working out quite well, but Cole and Lyla disagreed.

They took one last walk around the house, around their yard, and around their village. They stopped by Lilly's tombstone to put a bouquet of fresh daisies on it, making a promise to come back and put flowers there whenever they could. Then it was time to get going, and Lou drove Cole and Lyla off to their new school. They were both silent in the back seat of the car, having cried all their tears earlier.

Then they were getting out at the Marty Oppenheimer School Of Performing Arts. Lou hugged them both and said goodbye, promising that he would write to them. Cole and Lyla said little more than goodbye, both of them too sad and upset to say much else. They watched their father drive away, and the two of them were left alone once more. This time in a strange new place, with their two suitcases and each other as their only hope of survival.