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Jedi Headquarters, Imperial City, Coruscant
After helping clean up the supper dishes, Corrran wrapped his arms around Mirax’s waist and kissed her cheek. "Thanks for the delicious meal, sweetie."
"It must have been," Mirax mused, turning her head to look at him. "Because you actually helped clean up."
"Hey," Corran objected lightly. "I always help."
"Mmmhmm."
Jysella tugged Corran’s sleeve. "Daddy, aren’t you going to thank me?"
"For what?" Corran asked. "Did you help Mommy cook?"
"No," Jysella replied mischievously.
"Then what did you do?" Corran asked, trading amused glances with Mirax.
Jysella grinned. "I poured my own milk."
"You want me to thank you for pouring your own milk?" Corran asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep." Jysella bobbed her head. "Because I didn’t ask you to do it, did I?"
"She has a point." Mirax smirked.
"Yeah." Corran mussed his daughter’s brown hair. "Thank you, Jys, for pouring your own milk."
"You’re welcome!" Jysella exclaimed brightly, grabbing his hand. "Come on, Tales From Endor: Ewok Adventures is on!"
"Oh no," Valin cried out from the Holonet room. "Wraith is on tonight! It’s a new episode..."
"Wraith is boring! Ewok Adventures is interactive," Jysella called back to him, dragging her father behind her.
"Interactive holoshows?" Corran asked Mirax. "We didn’t have those when we were kids."
"That’s because Palpatine ruled the Galaxy when you were a kid, Dad," Valin retorted from his spot on the couch. "That’s ancient history."
"Ancient History?" Corran declared, just as the door annunciator bell rang. "I’ll get that," he said. "It’s probably Lainey and Miranda." Shaking his head, he thought that they had certainly taken their time.
With both arms, Jysella latched onto his right leg. "I’m coming with you!"
Pretending to stagger from the extra weight, Corran launched his right leg forward. "Then I hope they’re patient. I feel like I have a baby bantha on my foot." Taking a few awkward steps, he stumbled towards the door, then slapped the opener button. Miranda stood behind it, alone, carrying an envelope. "Hello Master Horn, Lainey had something to do, so she asked me to deliver this by myself."
"Thanks," Corran said, taking the envelope from Miranda. "Did she say where she was going?"
Miranda shook her head. "She didn’t."
Corran frowned. "Did she say when she would be coming back?"
"No." Miranda shifted her feet anxiously.
"Okay," Corran sighed. "Well, tell her when she gets back to come to talk to me."
"I will," Miranda said, sounding relieved. "Bye Master Horn, and Jysella."
"Bye!" Jysella said, freeing one of her arms from Corran’s leg to wave.
"Goodbye," Corran said before the door closed behind him and he turned back towards the holonet room.
"What did she give you Daddy?" Jsyella inquired, releasing his leg to walk beside him.
"A letter," Corran replied, pulling a well-worn sheet of flimsy out of the envelope. He began to read as he walked, sensing Jysella had risen up on her toes to try to read it too.
Corran froze at the end of the first paragraph, the part where his father’s name was mentioned. He’d never seen his father’s name in any documents about the Old Republic Jedi, probably thanks to his grandfather, Rostek Horn. His curiosity piqued, Corran read further, only to be shocked once again. His father had fought against Anakin Skywalker? It looked as though he and Luke went further back than they thought. The mention of Palpatine’s interaction with Anakin ran a shiver up his spine. That line foreshadowed dark times ahead.
Helaine probably never did get to see her family again. That thought made him far sadder than it should. It was almost like he had a connection to the girl. There was something familiar about the letter and its writer, that teased the edge of his thoughts, staying just beyond discovery.
"Corran," Mirax’s voice said into his thoughts. "Who was at the door?"
Blinking, Corran found himself just outside the holonet room, face to face with Mirax. "Miranda," he said after a moment. "She was just dropping the letter off."
"Oh," Mirax said, holding her hand out. "May I see it?"
"Of course," Corran replied, handing her the letter and wrapping his arm around her shoulders while she read. He had to figure out what it was about the letter that seemed so familiar.
"Interesting," Mirax said after a few minutes. "It seems we’ve found where Lainey got ‘padawan’ from."
"What?" Corran exclaimed, surprised.
"When Helaine mentions the competitors in the opening paragraph." Mirax pointed to the spot in the letter. She gave him a questioning look. "You didn’t notice?"
"I did," Corran replied softly. "It just didn’t compute. I’ve grown so used to using it that it seemed natural to me." Corran couldn’t believe he’d missed that. It had seemed so weird when he’d heard it in Lainey’s brief memory. Lainey’s enthusiasm for him calling her that had made him quickly grow used to it.
"There were holographs in the artifacts I’ve been working with," Mirax was saying. "I noticed today that the apprentices all wore slim braids over their right shoulder, like Lainey’s."
Corran raised an eyebrow, then caught a passage in the letter that now popped out at him:
I have never been the best at hand to hand combat, so I was training harder than usual. Valin watched me for a few minutes, then offered to give me some pointers since we would not be competing against each other; and on the condition that I would teach him some of my fancy hand movements.
Corran began to piece together the facts: Lainey tended to fight fancy, but today, when facing a different type of combat against him, she’d pulled one of his father’s tricks on him. She was not of Kyp’s order, she had no recollection of the Vong Wars, she had excellent control of the Force; she was found in a block of carbonite along with a whole load of Jedi artifacts, when first waking up she’d recognized the name Skywalker. The name Lainey was very close to Helaine, and she’d chosen to be called "Lainey" herself. "Oh my stars," Corran muttered under his breath. "Lainey wrote this letter."
Mirax’s dark eyes widened in surprise or shock. "What?"
Corran moved his hands to rest on her shoulders. "I have to find her." Just as those words left his mouth, he felt a wash of fear, anger, and pain come from his master/padawan bond with Lainey. A fleeting image of a great building burning, dying Jedi, and Darth Vader standing among the fallen. Corran reached out to her, finding an unconscious mind. This worried him, but at least he knew where she was: The Old Jedi Temple.
***
Armand barely caught Lainey before she hit the floor, worry creasing his brow. "Lainey," he said urgently, pressing his cheek close to her mouth to make sure she was breathing. Feeling her warm breath against his cheek, he touched the side of her neck to feel for a pulse, relieved to find that it was steady. "Lainey," he repeated, giving her a little shake. Something in this room had caused her to faint, perhaps something dark only she could sense through the Force.
All Armand could feel was a strange disquiet about the room, a sense of deep cold that prickled the hairs on his arms. He was about to try to wake Lainey again, when he heard soft voices speaking outside. He froze.
"Is she alone?"
"No, there’s a young man with her."
"Jedi?"
"I don’t think so."
"Hmm, a Jedi would make things far more interesting....but harder on us. This is good."
Armand didn’t wait for the stranger to finish his sentence. He hadn’t noticed they were being followed, but then he hadn’t really been paying attention. "Lainey," he whispered, patting her cheek. "You have to wake up..." He heard a few pairs of footsteps. Armand slid his arms beneath her back and knees, and lifted her off the floor. He scanned the room for a hiding place, finding none, he searched for an escape route, and noticed an opening into a corridor. Pressing his back against the wall, he felt his way out of the room away from the entrance door and into a hall, once again wishing he had a glowrod. The darkness here was impenetrable, causing Armand to worry he might trip over something and drop Lainey. The darkness grew heavier as he moved forward, covering him like a cloak, he pressed Lainey closer to his chest. He maintained a steady pace, having heard the men outside come into the building and begin looking around the room. Armand moved silently while they took heavy steps, whispered warnings and interrogatives to each other, obviously searching for something. Beams of light flashed in the hallway, causing Armand to move faster, sweat beading on his forehead. He wondered why they were looking for Lainey, if they knew her past and most importantly: would they hurt her?
Lost in thought, Armand didn’t notice his back hit a button, opening a door. Shocked, Armand lost his balance and fell backwards, just catching himself-and Lainey, on his knees. He carefully put her down, realizing that the building had to have power since the doors worked. "Lights," he whispered softly, hoping his voice wouldn’t carry. Only half the room’s lights flickered on at low power, but it was enough to illuminate the room he’d stumbled into. Also enough to draw attention... Armand quickly shut the door, and then turned to survey the room.
It was small, and cluttered with clothes, shredded bedding, broken pieces of a bed frame, and other smashed, indefinable items. Unfortunately, he could find no weapons, and the blaster he had picked up when first entering the Temple, probably didn’t work. He didn’t dare try it, wary of the noise it would make. Having no idea how many men there were outside, and weaponless, there was little he could do to protect Lainey and himself. The odds would be considerably better if she would wake up. He knelt beside her, shaking her shoulders, tickling her neck and sides, patting her cheeks, anything he could to wake her up. She didn’t move. He’d heard that it was best to let a fainting victim wake up on their own... but they did not have that luxury.
Armand surveyed her body, checking for injury, moving her arms and legs into a more comfortable position. His eyes traveled to the gentle curves of her face, the oval shape of her eyes, and her slightly parted lips. It was strange that only after two weeks, she was able to hold him in this transfixed state, even while sleeping. No other girl had had the ability to do so, even after months of trying. But then, no other girl had ever held his heart. He reached out to brush stray hairs away from her face, realizing he had the sudden desire to kiss her. It certainly wasn’t the right moment though... but due to the 'fairy tale' aspect of their relationship, it just might be just the thing to wake her. Though from lack of oxygen or the potency of his kiss, he couldn’t be sure. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to hers.
As she slid from darkness, Helaine Trillium suddenly found it hard to breathe. The deep cold was gone, replaced by an indescribable warmth centering on her lips. Something incredibly soft and sweet covered them, causing her to realize she was being kissed. Startled, her dark blue eyes flew open and she moved her face, expecting to find Valdemar or worse, Palpatine. That couldn’t be - she had felt no revulsion. Who she found, however, was a very handsome young man with a beautiful smile. Torn between being completely flustered and extremely flattered, coupled with the overall pain of losing her Master, all she could do was stare into his deep dark brown eyes.
Gently, he touched her cheek. "Are you alright?"
"Who are you?" Helaine managed to ask. The last thing she could remember was stepping into the carbon-freezing chamber, watching her Master’s death, and the sudden intense cold of the freezing. She’d never met this young man in her life... and yet, he seemed strangely familiar. Like someone she’d met in a dream from which she was just now waking, only to find he was real, and it hadn’t been a dream after all. Gazing into his eyes, she realized she somehow did know who he was, and had feelings for him that were forbidden for a Jedi. His eyes reflected the same feelings for her; she had felt their sweetness in his kiss. Shaking her head, she thought this was impossible. She didn’t know his name, or where she could possibly have met him. His name is Armand Naberrie, you him met at the Imperial Palace Spaceport...
Imperial palace spaceport? Helaine questioned herself.
Armand was giving her a strange look. "Lainey?" his tone grew concerned. "Are you feeling okay?"
Helaine’s focus had turned to the room they were in and her heart clenched in fear. She hopped to her feet, noting Armand doing the same. "What are we doing on Coruscant, in the temple?" she demanded, alarmed. A chilling thought ran through her mind. "Are you here to escort me to Palpatine?" she asked him, striving to look defiant, though her insides twisted in dread.
A surprised look crossed Armand’s face, which quickly turned into an understanding one. Placing both of his hands on her shoulders, he held her anxious gaze. "Palpatine has been dead for years, Lainey."
Her eyes widened, but then she realized, she knew that. "Oh," she said, pressing her trembling hand to her forehead and closing her eyes. There was something very strange going on here, she had fallen for a boy she’d never met, but actually had somehow met. Even stranger still, was she had lost her Master, but felt no void in the bond Master Caine’s death should have caused. Someone had to have replaced her. She realized she knew who it was too, but wasn’t willing to acknowledge him. Tears started filling in her eyes as she remembered the last moments of her Master’s life, and her shoulders started to shake. Distantly, she felt Armand wrapping his arms around her, and, despite her misgivings, she welcomed his embrace.
Copyright 2002 by Luney.
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