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Outside of Theed, Naboo
Heideh Daris gave her lips one last brush of rouge lip gloss, then took a step back to admire herself in the mirror. She had pulled her hair into a simple braid, and had put on khaki colored pants with a blue top. At the age of twelve, she had just entered the courting stage of her life-and was thoroughly enjoying it.
Julya had warned her against over ambitious country Lords, and Title seekers. Since Heideh wasn’t looking for a husband just yet, she basically flat out ignored Julya’s advice. Not to say she wasn’t choosy... she had her standards after all.
"Heideh!" Marc yelled as he ran past the refresher. "I think your boyfriend is here!"
"He’s not my boyfriend!" Heideh yelled after her brother, exiting the refresher as regally as possible.
Heideh’s little sister, Kirstie, appeared in the hallway, red pig tails bouncing as her green eyes lit up. "You look real pretty, Heideh."
"Thank you." Heideh pulled on one of her sister’s pigtails. "I understand Seamus is here?"
Kirstie bobbed her head. "He’s in the parlor with Daddy."
Uh oh,...Heideh quickened her step. "I better go rescue him."
***
King Richard Naberrie waited patiently outside the Daris estate while one of his guards pushed the door annunciator. He rarely went anywhere without giving any sort of warning first, but he’d just received Armand’s message and thought it important enough to tell Claria right away. Claria’s family had been deeply involved in trying to locate the former Queen Amidala’s children, stopping only when the danger grew too great.
Pounding footsteps could be heard inside the house, and Richard wasn’t the least bit surprised when little Kirstie opened the door over a servant. "Hi!" she exclaimed, dropping a quick, somewhat clumsy curtsy. "Your Majesty," she amended.
"Lady Kirstie," Richard said mock solemnly, nodding his head. Kirstie beamed at him, still standing in the doorway. "Are you going to invite me in?" he asked, winking at her.
"Oh, sorry." Kirstie blushed, then moved out of the doorway. She held the door for Richard and his guards, taking off as soon as everyone was inside. "Mommy, Daddy!" she yelled, running down the hallway. "The King is here!"
Richard exchanged amused glances with the head of his guard, Baruch. They followed the girl to the parlor, where it seemed nearly the whole family had gathered. Richard motioned for his guards to stay outside the room, then entered the parlor. Everyone in the room curtsied or bowed at his approach, a young, dirty-blonde haired youth dropping the lowest. By the set of her father's jaw, and the very adult manner Heideh was trying to carry herself, the young man had to be a suitor.
His first cousin, Claria, moved forward to kiss his cheek. "Richard, this is a welcome surprise."
"He called me a lady!" Kirstie announced, still beaming.
Hayllar Daris laughed, and muzzled his daughter’s hair. "And don’t you look it today," he teased, tugging the sleeve of her somewhat worn, green jumpsuit.
Richard smiled and raised an eyebrow at Heideh. "Who’s the young man, Heideh?"
Heideh tilted her chin proudly. "Seamus Finnigan, we’re going on a date."
"Oh?" Richard looked at the young man, who instantly averted his gaze and fidgeted. "What are you going to do with my cousin, Seamus?"
Seamus’s eyes grew wide. "Nothing!" He took a deep breath. "I mean nothing, your Majesty."
"Now what kind of a date is nothing?" Richard teased the boy.
"Um." Seamus looked from Hayllar’s stern face, to Richard and just shook his head. "It’s not, I’ve got to go, sorry Heideh!" He backed away, walking quickly out the door.
"Wait!" Heideh exclaimed, taking after him. She glared at Hayllar, then Richard over her shoulder. "You two scared him on purpose!"
Richard held his hands up. "I didn’t mean..." he began, but Heideh was already out of the room. He shook his head and turned to the Darises. "That boy is living proof that thirteen is much to young to date."
Hayllar grinned. "Definitely."
Claria rested her hand on Hayllar’s arm. "It didn’t help matters much that Hayllar was giving him the ‘so you want to date my daughter’ talk before you arrived." Her lips curved into a slight smile. "You probably just pushed him over the edge, Richard."
Richard nodded, looking towards the door. Julya was usually one of the first to come see him when he came to visit. Having spent the greater part of her life in the palace in Theed, she was like a sister to his sons, and a daughter to Richard. She was conspicuous by her absence.
He clasped his hands behind his back and turned to Claria. "I’m sure you are wondering what I am doing here."
Claria nodded. "Yes."
"There is something I need to discuss with you two, in private," Richard said, noticing Kirstie’s face fall, and her father already starting to shoo her from the room . "If it is convenient for you."
"Of course," Claria said, exchanging glances with Hayllar as he closed the door behind Kirstie. "Have a seat," she said graciously to Richard.
Richard sat down on the soft couch, with Claria and Hayllar taking the chairs that faced him. "For the past year I have been sending people out to find out what has been going on in the Galaxy around us. From their reports I have learned that Palpatine died years ago, and with him fell his Empire. A new Republic has been established." Richard paused, studying Claria and Hayllar’s faces. He got the feeling that they’d heard all of this before, but perhaps not what he was going to tell them next. "I feel that now is the time for us to make contact with the Galaxy, and trade with other worlds again.
"I have sent Armand to Coruscant to investigate the New Republic." Richard smiled. "But that isn’t what I came here to discuss with you. " He rested his hands on his knees. "I have recently received a message from Armand: Amidala’s twins are on Coruscant."
Claria looked at Hayllar, then turned back to Richard. "Thank you for coming here to tell us this. I’m afraid we have something to confess, we already know. Leia’s son, Anakin, crash landed near our estate a few months ago; he told us everything. We housed him here until his ship was fixed, and when he left, he took Julya with him so that she could train to be a Jedi."
"So she takes after your father?" Richard asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, she has Obi-Wan's gift." Hayllar answerd for Claria.
"I was wondering where Julya went," Richard nodded. "However, I came here to ask you two if you would like to come with me to Coruscant to meet Luke and Leia."
Claria’s eyes widened, she struggled a bit to keep her composure. "I’d love to," she said after getting over her initial shock. "Will Drusilla be coming with us?"
Richard shook his head. "She’s staying here to cover administrative duties."
"Oh," Claria said. "Can’t Prince Richard do it?"
"Haven’t you heard the news yet?" Richard asked, shocked. "Lillian’s pregnant. Rich has been walking around telling everything that moves he’s going to be a father. I don’t want to burden him with ruling just yet."
Claria smiled. "Well, congratulations then." She paused. "Grandpa."
Richard winced. "You have no idea how old that makes me feel."
"Yeah, it makes the age gap between us grow from three to, I don’t know, ten years?" Claria jested.
Richard laughed. "Ten years? You underestimate your daughters." He turned to Hayllar. "Will you be accompanying us to Coruscant?"
Hayllar shook his head. "No, I better stay here to hold down the fort."
"Alright." Richard nodded to him. "Is tomorrow too early for you, Claria?"
"Tomorrow?" Claria gaped. "There’s so much to do here..."
"I’ll take care of it," Hayllar assured her. "Go see your cousins."
Claria smiled her thanks to Hayllar. "Tomorrow is fine, Richard." She paused in sudden rememberance. "I forgot to send something Father left in our safekeeping for the future generation of Jedi. I’m sure Luke would love to have it."
***
Guild, Mantooine
Karina Batista tapped her fingers nervously on her lap. Her Master, Tane Oreth, sat calmly while Xinavane Demarc scanned the holos of Atticus Erien, Manuel Rigazzo, and Lainey. She and Master Oreth were posing as NRI agents investigating three possible murder cases and a possible kidnaping. To the Jedi, they were allegedly helping a refugee camp in the Turaso system. Master Skywalker felt that they were the perfect choice for the assignment since neither was a well known Jedi, plus Master Oreth had years of experience in espionage. Karina had hated lying to her friends, but she had to because of the danger associated with their mission. If the killer on Mantooine learned that she and Master Oreth were Jedi, their lives would be forfeit.
Her eyes traveled over to Xinavane’s office window where Mantooine’s sun burned through the transparisteel. The sky was a beautiful light blue, without a single cloud to blemish the perfect afternoon. The sounds of hovercar traffic and bustling people drifted through the room from outside, helping to create a perfectly normal atmosphere.
But there was something cold underlying the warmth of Mantooine’s sun that shaded the people’s light in the Force. Karina could see the same coolness in Xinavane’s gray eyes, making her wonder if he was the instigator. He was almost too polite, he seemed too kind, but his smiles never reached his eyes. His accent was very smooth and cultured, his demeanor calm, almost eerily so.
Xinavane finally put the holos down and folded his hands atop the desk. "I’m afraid that I don’t remember seeing either of these two enter or leave the system. You believe the boy to be dead, correct?" Master Oreth nodded his head. "And the girl... was found frozen in carbonite?" He raised his right eyebrow.
"Yes," Master Oreth replied. "I know it sounds strange."
"Very, since I haven’t heard of any carbon freeze chambers on Mantooine." Xinavane ran a hand across his jaw. "You’re certain the cases are connected?"
Master Oreth spread his hands. "We only assumed. They seemed similar."
"I see." Xinavane steepled his fingers. "I can remember seeing the boy and his Master. They were a great help to the refugee camp. Manuel was last seen entering the Terrance forest." He sighed. "That forest is a dangerous place, we’ve had problems with it for years."
Leaning forward Master Oreth asked, "Do you know what’s in there?"
Xinavane shook his head. "No. But I do know that it doesn’t only target Jedi. Every investigation team sent in there has never returned. The forest has been marked off limits for years."
"How many Jedi have recently visited your system?" Karina asked.
"Hard to say," Xinavane said, his eyes piercing through hers. "They’re not always open about it."
Karina felt a chill run up her spine as she suppressed the urge to glance at her Master. Xinavane knew.
Xinavane released her gaze. "I do know that we have had representatives from Luke Skywalker’s and Kyp Durron’s Jedi." His cold eyes met Karina’s once more. "I want you to know that the citizens of Mantooine hold no animosity towards the Jedi. They, like myself, have nothing but the utmost respect for them."
Karina could sense no deceit in Xinavane’s words. She stared at his graying hair and barely wrinkled face. His gray eyes had an almost ageless quality, and he moved with the ease of a twenty year old.
Master Oreth rose to his feet, compelling Karina to do the same. "I’d like to thank you for your help, Mr. Demarc. Karina and I would like to look around the city, if you don’t mind."
"Of course." Xinavane rose to his feet to shake Master Oreth’s hand. "Be my guest." He briefly shook Karina’s hand. "If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask."
Master Oreth promised that they wouldn’t, and escorted Karina out the door. A bad feeling settled in her stomach as they left. It was almost like turning their backs to Xinavane was their biggest mistake so far.
And one of their last.
He watched them leave before turning to his assistant, who stood in the shadows of the sunlit office. "I believe we have found the perfect bait to lure Skywalker here." His eyes glittered as he pulled a credit chip from his pocket. "Bring Helaine to me." He paused to toss the credit chip. "Tell her I look forward to seeing her again."
Copyright 2002 by Luney.
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